PJ LIBRARY BOOK AUTHOR Barb Rosenstock wroter her first children’s book just five years ago. Prior to that, she spent 20 years working as a professional copywriter in advertising and marketing environments.
Sent out to readers in the Dates & Almonds (4 to 5 years of age) group, Rosenstock’s latest story about little Mount Sinai is similar to her own story. Rosenstock wasn’t a big-name author or well renowned educator. She was just a modest writer inspired by Judaism.
THE LITTLEST MOUNTAIN
The Littlest Mountain, illustrated by Melanie Hall, was inspired by an old Hebrew fable about a contest of mountains. Rosenstock told TribLocal of Vernon Hills this month, that the fable explained by Mount Sinai was chosen to receive the Ten Commandments.
“I went to [Congregation Or Shalom’s] Rabbi Scott Looper and asked him if he’d heard of a story about mountains competing for God’s favor,” Rosenstock told TribLocal writer Sue Masaracchia-Roberts. “He looked up the original story, translated it, and we discussed it. In three days, I wrote a draft by expanding the story’s message and giving the mountains each a personality. I e-mailed it to Kar-Ben [the publisher]. They loved it and bought it within a week.”
VIDEO TRAILER: THE LITTLE MOUNTAIN
Here’s a video trailer f Rosenstock’s book, The Littlest Mountain: