The Children of the Cave: A Tale of Israel and Rome

by Zvi Livne Lieberman, Victor G. Ambrus (Illustrator), Zipora Raphael (Translator)

A twelve year old boy becomes leader of a group of children who escape the devastating Roman invasion of Israel in 70 A.D.

Genres: Historical Fiction

168 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1969

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It tells of Hebrews in AD 70 under the rule of the Roman Empire. The book is in three parts: The Revolt, The Community of Children, and The Search. There is brutality and loss, but also perseverance and hope. It seems to me, however, that some of the outcomes are a bit too neat and rosy. In the second part there is lots of growth and change, but we don't get the details about how these children learn all the things they need to survive - it all just is remembered (though there are missteps along the way). I could wish for a bit more Little House on the Prairie style explanation of just how exactly things are done. I did appreciate the occasional very realistic interactions of children, many of which dealt with the pains of learning things like delayed gratification.

This author apparently wrote more than 30 books, many for children - all published in Israel. Looks like only two made it to English translations (the other is a story of Abraham from the Bible). I would have liked more historical fiction like this.

Nice color cover illustration by Victor Ambrus; unfortunately no other interior illustrations.