Max and Emma Cross the Red Sea

Did the Red Sea really part for the Israelites in the desert? Max and Emma are going back in time to find out!

Max wants to be brave, but he doesn't know how. He can't even chant the Four Questions without stuttering, and his family's seder is just around the corner.

To avoid practicing the Four Questions, Max travels back in time with his friend Emma. There they meet Moses, who rallies his people to cross the Red Sea despite his own stutter, and Nachshon, who takes a leap of faith to help the Israelites . . . and one pesky poodle! With the Egyptian army right behind them, Max learns that courage comes in many forms--and that he's much braver than he thought.

Filled with charming full-color illustrations, this is the second book in the much-loved Torah Time Travel chapter book series for younger readers featuring friends Max and Emma. Perfect for fans of adventure, history, and friendship stories.

Don’t miss the first Torah Time Travel adventure, Max Builds a Time Machine!

This is part of a com­bined review for Max Builds a Time Machine.

Easy-to-read lan­guage and col­or­ful illus­tra­tions make these two time-trav­el adven­ture tales based on sto­ries in the Torah excel­lent intro­duc­tions to bib­li­cal char­ac­ters. Pro­tag­o­nists Max and Emma use a home-made time machine to trav­el to ancient times, where they par­tic­i­pate in events they have only learned about in Hebrew school.

In the first book, Max has lit­tle patience for his class­mate Emma. When Max finds him­self in Abra­ham and Sarah’s tent along with three mys­te­ri­ous strangers, he learns an impor­tant les­son about hos­pi­tal­i­ty and about the prop­er way to greet and inter­act with strangers. When Max returns, he is kinder and more accept­ing of Emma, and the two start to become friends. A ​“Note for Fam­i­lies” is append­ed, sum­ma­riz­ing and extend­ing some of the lessons Max has learned dur­ing his time trav­el experience.

In the sec­ond sto­ry, Max and his fam­i­ly are prepar­ing for the Passover seder, and Max devel­ops a case of stage fright while con­tem­plat­ing singing the Four Ques­tions. This time, his new friend, Emma, and her poo­dle, Kelev, accom­pa­ny Max on his time machine adven­ture. They arrive at the Red Sea short­ly before the Israelites are ready to plunge into the water in order to escape the Egyp­tians, who are chas­ing them and who hope to rein­state them as slaves. They meet Nachshon, the first of the Israelites to brave the sea before it splits, allow­ing them to pass in safe­ty. Max learns some impor­tant lessons about brav­ery and that through­out his­to­ry, pub­lic speak­ing has been a daunt­ing task for many, includ­ing Moses. Anoth­er ​“Note to Fam­i­lies” append­ed to the sec­ond sto­ry encour­ages chil­dren to face and over­come their fears.

Both books are fun to read and help chil­dren and their fam­i­lies think about bib­li­cal sto­ries in a new light, draw­ing atten­tion to con­nec­tions in their own lives, which will help them become kinder and more con­fi­dent as they mature. Schools and par­ents will wel­come this series as part of a larg­er con­ver­sa­tion about Jew­ish and gen­er­al val­ues that affect chil­dren’s dai­ly lives.         --Michal Malen, The Jewish Book Council