An excellent retelling of the classic Jewish folk tale in which two brothers each consider the other's needs to be more than his own, and offers some of what he has to his brother. In this telling, the giving is done with great persistence. Here, the story is used by King Solomon to teach two brothers in his own time the central value of sharing. The Jewish version of this tale is presented, but a postscript indicates that there are variant versions amongst Arab peoples as well. - Marla S. ( )

One City, Two Brothers tells a story about Solomon teaching two brothers a lesson by telling them a myth about how the city of Jerusalem and temple came to existence. It is appropriate for primary readers, but I would not recommend it for school reading because it does have areas that highlight the Muslim religion. ( )

This book is about two brothers that are each wanting to get their late fathers land. They go to King Solomon to handle their dispute and all he has to say is a story in return. Solomon tells them a story about two brothers that have two separate spaces of land and they each grow their own crops. One brother has a large family while the other lives alone. One winter, each of the brothers decide that the other brother needs more crop than himself. They are confused for when they return to their shop, there aren't any crops missing. The brothers try to exchange crops for three days until they realize what is happening. When they finally figure it out, they are overcome with love. Solomon turns to the two brothers fighting over land and they come to the agreement that their fathers property is theirs together. I might use this story when talking about sharing and relationships and unconditional love. Genre: Myth ( )

Two Brothers One City is a story of two brothers who are fighting over land that their father has left them. They got to ing Solomon for advice. The ing tells them of a story about two brothers who shared a field. Every year the brothers split their wheat exactly in half. The brothers were both satisfied with what each gained. One brother gets married and has children, while the other remains single. The Older brother is concerned for his younger brother, he worries that his brother will have no one to care for him when he is older and secretly sends him three baskets of grain. He wakes up the next morning and tells his wife that they only brang in 17 baskets. She tells him he must not be able to count because there are 20 baskets in storage. Then the brother again repeats this act of love three nights in a row and discovers that the same amount remains in his storage. It must be a miracle. The whole time his brother is bringing him three baskets of grain and is concerned for his older brothers family. The last night that they both attempt to sneak their gift to one another they meet up at the top of the hill. It is here they discover that both are concerned for one another and both love each other. They continue to share the field and are content knowing of each other’s love. The king tells the brothers that are fighting this story and from this point forward they to share the field their father gave them. ( )

When two brothers come to King Solomon arguing about who should get the land their father left, he listens to the argue for a while, and then begins to tell a story. Not just any story, but the story of the founding of Jerusalem. Two brothers farmed the land left to them by their father, although they lived in neighboring villages. After one harvest, the brother with a family realizes that the other brother, who never married, will need more grain to sustain himself into his old age, while he will be able to rely on his children to support him. So he decides to give his brother extra grain, but secretly. In the morning, he cannot figure out why he still has the same amount of grain he had before. This continues until the end, when the two brothers realize that they are both trying to give the other brother more grain. Slightly moralistic, this tale is still quite entertaining for children. Large blocks of text on each page contribute to a much slower paced story than most. Illustrations in calming colors and depicted from unusual angles contribute to the folktale feel of this story. Recommended. Ages 5-8. ( )