Sosi was a donkey and Balaam was a prophet that lived around the Euphrates river. There was a king that wanted to destroy his enemies the Israelites, and he asked the prophet to curse the Israelites. The prophet told him that he would do whatever God told him to do, and God told Balaam not to curse the Israelites. Once Balaam told the king that God did not want him to curse the Israelites, the king insisted that he cursed the Israelites. Balaam had a dream, that he misinterpreted, and he was going to curse the Israelites. Once God saw this, he sent an angel, and the donkey that Balaam was travelling on tried to prevent Balaam from going to curse the Israelites. The man beats his donkey because the donkey tried to prevent him. I never heard of the story of Balaam, and at the beginning I thought it was fictional. When I read the summary, I found out that it was biblical combined with fiction. The actions of the donkey is what I enjoyed the most. The donkey trying to save the life of his master reminded me how nice animals are. For an activity for kids I would want them to write a few sentences about the donkey and his master. I would like them to describe some qualities about them. ( )

The Donkey's Book is a Jewish folk tale coming from the Old Testament about Balaam and his donkey Sosi. The story is meant to tell how "extraordinary things can happen to very ordinary creatures." The story and pictures convey the message well, and leave you with a smile on your face several times throughout the book. ( )

This is a retelling of the Bible story in the book of Numbers. A man and his donkey are both spoken to by God and are able to speak what He says. When asked by a king to curse his enemies, they can only do as God instructs them and instead they bless the enemies of the king.
The idea of a talking donkey is a funny one for kids and because this retelling is intended for children, I thought it was odd that the author skimmed over that part of the story so quickly. ( )

This book should not be read to children under the age of 10. It's a story about a Jewish prophet, but it takes a lot to understand. Honestly, I'm not Jewish, and I had a really hard time understanding this book and it was boring. I'm Catholic and I thought this book would be really interesting. I would not teach this to my students. ( )

A bit long for a picture book, but the story should be clear to older children. Balaam, a non-Jewish prophet, knows his prophecies come from God. The prayer, Ma Tovu, the beginning of Shaharit, the morning service, comes from one of Balaam's prophecies. The pictures are colorful; the angel looks like a Renaissance angel.

The author explains that the story uses the most recent JPS translation of Numbers: 23-24 as well as Robert Alter's commentary in The Art of Biblical Narrative (Basic Books, 1981). ( )