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Sunday, 23 August 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Moshe Comes to Visit by Tehila Sade Moyal

Moshe Comes to Visit
Author: Tehila Sade Moyal
Genre: Picture Book
Publication Date: 14th October 2017
Publisher: Simple Story

Book Description:
"I find it funny when mother says

There is no need to fear monsters

But she herself is afraid of poor Moshe…"

In each of us there exists a fear that others are unafraid…

Night after night Ethan wakes up with "noises of monsters." Until one night his father finds a creative way to calm his fears.

However, when Moshe comes to visit their home, Ethan discovers that his mother is afraid of Moshe. Despite her fear, Ethan actually likes Moshe.

Ethan suggests using the same creative solution to calm his mother’s fears.

This book deals with coping with fear, and shows that everyone is afraid of something that another person is not.

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MY REVIEW

Our young protagonist (no identification provided) swears there are monsters lurking in his room at night, waiting to attack him. His parents, on the other hand, assure him he has nothing to worry about and comes up with an action plan to overcome any monster should they appear. This plan is written in the form of an agreement entitled "Agreement with Fears". The story takes a shift from the protagonist's fear to the parents' fear in the form of a talking cockroach, who the protagonist quickly befriends, calling his new friend Moshe. To help his parents overcome their fear, the protagonist creates an Agreement with Fears just as his parents had done for him.

Cute is the adjective that comes to mind when I think of Moshe Comes to Visit, mostly because of Moshe, but the story overall was adorable. I must admit, after reading this book, I felt bad about all the insects I have squashed over the years. I don't know how well the message will go over with children as the protagonist's fear wasn't fully explored, thus we don't necessarily see how he overcame his fear. It was sort of brushed under the rug, the focus shifting instead to his parents, which isn't necessarily irrelevant as it's good to highlight that it's not only children who exhibit fear. However, as this story is supposed to be targeted at children, the focus should have been on how he learned to overcome his fear. Why Moshe was able to communicate verbally with the main character was beyond me, but kids have a very vivid imagination, so I'm sure it won't throw them off completely, and Moshe is just the cutest cockroach ever.

It was a good read. It definitely put a smile on my face. I wouldn't say I was sold on the message, but I acknowledged the author's intention.

VERDICT


Award: Silver
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Source: Author

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