Jewish children appear rarely in rabbinic literature, but when they do, they have usually been considered by modern scholars as little more than allegorical figures, as S. notes (p. xiv). This volume, the first full treatment of Jewish childhood in the Roman world, successfully reclaims the early years of Jewish men and women by exploring how the concept of Jewish childhood was constructed and imag(in)ed, primarily through a focus on rabbinic literature and visual evidence from synagogue frescos and mosaics. S. takes ‘a multi-layered approach that combines conventional academic discourse with creative non-fiction’ (p. xxii), so that, as well as the usual scholarly discussion (Parts 1 and 2: Chapters 1–5, 6–7), the work also includes four chapters (Part 3: Chapters 8–11) that are written as first-person narratives, termed ‘autobiographies’ in the work. The justifications for their presence (at p. xxviii and pp. 267–8) suggests that S. is well aware that not all readers will be won over by these chapters, and indeed full engagement with this volume will likely depend in part on their positive reception by the reader.

The stated aim of these creative non-fiction chapters is ‘empowering children to speak for themselves’ (p. xxviii). Each chapter takes place during an important event in the life of a Jewish child (Sukkot, Passover, Sabbath) and at various significant chronological points in Jewish interactions with the Roman world (e.g. 135 ce). S. emphasises that the narratives are ‘[anchored] in the archaeological, art historical and literary documentation’ (p. xxviii), although it should be noted that for three of the chapters in this section (9–11) this refers primarily to the historical and geographical context rather than the child protagonist her/himself, who in reality is known only as a name from an inscription. This lack of detail for the child's ‘real’ life affords S. a good deal of creative licence, therefore, but generally she uses this wisely, and it is well balanced by the second half of each chapter, which reverts back to ‘conventional academic discourse’. There S. provides informative discussions of the historical, social and/or religious context that forms the background to the narrative, while the stories themselves include footnotes to explain terms or support events (although some may find this distracting, pulling the reader out of the narrative-world and returning them abruptly to the academic). The narratives bring to life much of what is discussed in the preceding chapters in a manner that overall is plausible, evocative and well written.

The life-events and historical episodes discussed in the creative non-fiction chapters are drawn from earlier parts of the work. Chapters 1–7 focus on the construction of Jewish childhood in rabbinic literature (helpfully defined on pp. xv–xvi) and visual culture (predominately frescos from the Dura-Europos synagogue) and the ways in which the experiences of childhood became a vital part of the process by which male and female children formed and understood their Jewish identity. Difficulties with defining the term ‘minor’ and of mapping numerical ages onto the life cycles defined in rabbinic texts (a particularly useful table [pp. 24–6] compares the social expectations at various ages of boys verses girls) as well as consideration of spaces where children existed and of childhood as a category of exclusion make for an informative wide-ranging first chapter encompassing many topics that are foundational to subsequent discussions.

The importance of age, gender and parental input are particular themes that are returned to throughout the work. Chapter 3, for example, examines in further detail the distinctions made between the treatment of boys and girls first raised in Chapter 1, to emphasise that sons were considered as the priority child in rabbinic literature (and likely family life). Fashioning a boy into his male Jewish identity began almost from birth with circumcision and a limited role for the mother, while religious participation and, especially, education and the reading of the Torah further reinforced notions of what it meant to be a Jewish man. For Jewish daughters (the subject of Chapter 4, but rarely discussed in the rabbinic literature), in contrast, S. highlights that the construction of their female identity was focused on ‘the twin pillars of virginity and maternity’ (p. 151) and the expectation that they would become brides, although, interestingly, it appears that underage girls could reject the marriage arranged for them (pp. 159–62). The importance of purity (sexual and bodily) to Jewish identity and the impact of its presence or absence on childhood is discussed throughout Chapters 1–5, but is explored more thoroughly in Chapter 5. This chapter also includes a notable examination of non-binary gender categories in rabbinic writing about children.

Part 2 (Chapters 6–7) centres on the visual material, and it is here that S.’s arguments become less convincing. Her unique assertion in both chapters that the lower register of the west wall of the Dura-Europos synagogue should be considered as the ‘children register’ (p. 226 and throughout these chapters) because it ‘was devoted solely to tales featuring child protagonists … [and] clearly had younger (and shorter) worshippers in mind’ (p. 224) is suggestive but difficult to support. The portrayal of Esther in this register as the wife of the Persian king means she cannot really be considered a child, by S.’s own definitions in Chapters 1 and 4, nor is she the central focus of the panel, the impression created by the discussion (pp. 265–6). Additionally, children appear elsewhere in the frescos not just in this register (although S.’s suggestion that there are up to five portrayed in the panel depicting Elijah's sacrifice [pp. 242–3] is unlikely, these are more probably slaves who are also represented as diminutive figures in iconography). S.’s tendency to read more into the evidence than it can support, which works well for the creative non-fiction chapters, is less successful here; suggestions that Esther's inclusion is ‘an endorsement of Jewish-gentile marriage’ or that ‘[t]he presence of David's brothers as mute participants … served, perhaps, as an allusion to the high rate of infant mortality’ (both p. 256) fail to convince. Instead, S. is much more persuasive in her argument for the importance of visual culture to instilling the conception of Jewish identity and modes of behaviours in children (and adults), as is the conclusion that the synagogue and its visual language played a central role in education, reinforcing lessons learned through literacy in Jewish communities.

Bold suggestions are not confined to these chapters, and the reader would be wise to pay close attention to the footnotes throughout. These often provide a more nuanced picture than that suggested by the main text, as well as extensive bibliography for contested ideas and some comparative material; S.’s decision not to include this in the main discussions is a deliberate one (p. xviii). Chapters 3 and 8 have been published elsewhere and so are mostly free of the minor typographical errors that occur throughout the work. The image of the Torah niche from the Dura-Europos synagogue (fig. 6.4, p. 223) has been rotated on its vertical axis, and other images would have benefited from being larger (and in colour), particularly those in Chapters 6 and 7. Links to websites provide helpful access to other artworks discussed. Some technical terms are defined within the work, but not all; so a glossary would have been of benefit to non-specialists.

These are minor quibbles, however, and should not substantially detract from a work that is important in being the first to treat Jewish childhood in the Roman world as a subject worthy of study on its own merit. Bringing together a range of material, S. creates a compelling picture of the process by which children were educated in (the expectations of) their Jewish identity, while the chapters of creative non-fiction attempt to give back a voice to those whom we can no longer hear clearly.