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Scarlett and Sam #1
Escape from Egypt
One minute, twins Scarlett and Sam are bickering about who's going to read the Four Questions at the Passover seder. The next minute, they've been swept up by Grandma Mina's time-traveling carpet and dumped in the ancient Egyptian desert! And as if being stranded 3,000 years in the past isn't bad enough, they also find their fellow Hebrews suffering in slavery. So they team up with Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help free the slaves. The future's looking bright! But the story they know so well doesn't turn out the way they expected...
-- "Magazine"
-- "Magazine"
168 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Eric A. Kimmel
161 books111 followersEric A. Kimmel is an American author of more than 150 children's books. His works include Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman), Sydney Taylor Book Award winners The Chanukkah Guest and Gershon's Monster, and Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 18, 2018
Probably more of a 3.5 but I rounded up in gratitude that it was so much better than the last book I read on the Exodus from Egypt. Addendum: I decided to go ahead and make this 3 stars after all. Kimmel has two quarreling twins, Scarlett and Sam, go back in time via their grandmother's magic carpet to Ancient Egypt at the time of the Exodus. The kids meet Moses, Aaron and Miriam. They also meet Pharaoh's oldest son, Seti, who they like a lot. They go with Moses and Aaron to talk with Pharaoh, over and over again as the story goes through the ten plagues to the last most terrible one. They accompany the Jews to the Red Sea and witness the final miracle there.
This is a really nicely done retelling, meant for modern day 3rd to 5th graders. I would hope this book would at a minimum be in many Temple libraries!
This is a really nicely done retelling, meant for modern day 3rd to 5th graders. I would hope this book would at a minimum be in many Temple libraries!
July 31, 2023
This juvenile novel, the first of a trilogy, was written by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Ivica Stevanovic (Kar-Ben, 2015). It's also on a list of books called Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Kimmel is an incredibly prolific children's author, having written over 150 books (of which I've read only 30). In his trilogy about American Jewish twins Scarlett and Sam, they are magically transported back in time to the Biblical era. In this volume they help Moses and Aaron, and in the other volumes they help Solomon and Jonah. (Good thing everyone speaks 21st-century English!)
Sometimes, but not always, the twins are familiar with the stories from Hebrew school. For example, they tell Aaron that they heard about how Moses as a baby was floated on the Nile, and how he got his stutter when angels pushed his hand into coals. Interestingly, Aaron confirms the first and denies the second. ("Burning coals? Who makes up this stuff?")
The writing is entertaining and the elaborations on Tanach are memorable. A few examples:
* Pharaoh's son Seti is a nice kid who befriends Scarlett and Sam. (Too bad he's a firstborn. Uh oh!)
* In the plague of hail, some of the hailstones are as large as SUVs, and one knocks off the Sphinx's nose.
* The plague of "wild beasts" turns out to be dinosaurs, who have been magically transported forward in time! If I ever give a class about that plague, I'm definitely going to quote this book.
Kimmel is an incredibly prolific children's author, having written over 150 books (of which I've read only 30). In his trilogy about American Jewish twins Scarlett and Sam, they are magically transported back in time to the Biblical era. In this volume they help Moses and Aaron, and in the other volumes they help Solomon and Jonah. (Good thing everyone speaks 21st-century English!)
Sometimes, but not always, the twins are familiar with the stories from Hebrew school. For example, they tell Aaron that they heard about how Moses as a baby was floated on the Nile, and how he got his stutter when angels pushed his hand into coals. Interestingly, Aaron confirms the first and denies the second. ("Burning coals? Who makes up this stuff?")
The writing is entertaining and the elaborations on Tanach are memorable. A few examples:
* Pharaoh's son Seti is a nice kid who befriends Scarlett and Sam. (Too bad he's a firstborn. Uh oh!)
* In the plague of hail, some of the hailstones are as large as SUVs, and one knocks off the Sphinx's nose.
* The plague of "wild beasts" turns out to be dinosaurs, who have been magically transported forward in time! If I ever give a class about that plague, I'm definitely going to quote this book.
June 3, 2023
2.5/3?
Published in 2015, I appreciate that the addition of a Nubian, Black African character who was enslaved in Pharaoh’s menagerie tending to an elephant might have seemed like a good idea.
It doesn’t hold up.
Especially doesn’t hold up because Moses tells Juba and the elephant to be the last out of Egypt. That the Israelites aren’t the only people enslaved in Egypt is good, that they aren’t the only ones to get out is good. But this reads like a white savior narrative even though the saviors aren’t actually white.
I’m also troubled about all of the “don’t be sad” responses to death. Including the death of a friend, death of all of the Egyptian first born, and death of the army and horses. No time to be sad right now. Don’t be sad, you did all you could. Etc. Thats not a healthy response to death, and it’s not a helpful way to support children in learning this story.
And the illustrator has Miriam playing a stringed instrument instead of a drum.
Bottom line:
I love the idea, and I like Scarlett and Sam.
I *want* to like this book.
The time travel be IN the story is great.
And these issues are just too big for me to ignore.
Published in 2015, I appreciate that the addition of a Nubian, Black African character who was enslaved in Pharaoh’s menagerie tending to an elephant might have seemed like a good idea.
It doesn’t hold up.
Especially doesn’t hold up because Moses tells Juba and the elephant to be the last out of Egypt. That the Israelites aren’t the only people enslaved in Egypt is good, that they aren’t the only ones to get out is good. But this reads like a white savior narrative even though the saviors aren’t actually white.
I’m also troubled about all of the “don’t be sad” responses to death. Including the death of a friend, death of all of the Egyptian first born, and death of the army and horses. No time to be sad right now. Don’t be sad, you did all you could. Etc. Thats not a healthy response to death, and it’s not a helpful way to support children in learning this story.
And the illustrator has Miriam playing a stringed instrument instead of a drum.
Bottom line:
I love the idea, and I like Scarlett and Sam.
I *want* to like this book.
The time travel be IN the story is great.
And these issues are just too big for me to ignore.
May 31, 2023
I mean, this book is terrible. The conceit is a bit dumb, but also a kind of classic way to get kids engaged -- children get sucked into history and experience it directly etc -- so I'm not going to hold that against them. The tone is also really badly off in an attempt to pander to children, which made it annoying. The worst part, though, is the random insertion of black slaves into the story. The Hebrews save the black slaves, who then ride in the back of the exodus on an elephant, thanking Moses and crew for their generosity. So far as I can tell this is just pulled out of thin air, a gratuitous embellishment on the original mythology.
March 13, 2023
It was an amazing book. I loved it so much. I hope you’ll give it a five star review. They get swept on a magic carpet and they end up being slaves which is a total bummer and they end up meeting Aaron and Moses. Just so you know: the story is in Exodus, a.k.a. exodus means exit in Jewish language.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2015
A fun adventure for early readers, especially for those interested in understanding basics about Jewish holidays. I think it's a niche book for that reason, but really, any parent could read it to/with their child for the fun of it and to expand/explore religious stories.
This is clearly the first in a new series of time travel history books for early readers and I'm looking forward to seeing where the twins travel next.
I found myself laughing out loud at parts that were pure silliness, and for those who want something traditional and totally true to the religious texts, this will not be the book for you.
For instance, Moses and his step-brother (the Pharaoh) are arguing as adults and they revert to their youthful sibling-rivalry. When the Pharaoh called Moses "Mose Nose" I could just imagine kids laughing. I certainly did.
On a more serious note, the tough issues of the Passover and the plagues are not things easily explained in a book appropriate for children. Somehow Eric managed.
This is clearly the first in a new series of time travel history books for early readers and I'm looking forward to seeing where the twins travel next.
I found myself laughing out loud at parts that were pure silliness, and for those who want something traditional and totally true to the religious texts, this will not be the book for you.
For instance, Moses and his step-brother (the Pharaoh) are arguing as adults and they revert to their youthful sibling-rivalry. When the Pharaoh called Moses "Mose Nose" I could just imagine kids laughing. I certainly did.
On a more serious note, the tough issues of the Passover and the plagues are not things easily explained in a book appropriate for children. Somehow Eric managed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews