Product Description

In this handsome companion volume to Stories from the Life of Jesus, Celia Barker Lottridge brings her gifts as an award-winning storyteller to the Jewish Bible. These texts from the Old Testament are essential for reading the books, for looking at the art, and for listening to the music from the past two millennia — and long before. Lottridge's striking prose highlights the drama of such stories as Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, Samson in the lion's den, the famed exodus from Egypt, Lot and his wife who turned to stone, and more.

At a time when religion is both omnipresent and absent from children's lives, this version of the Jewish Bible is presented to young readers as a narrative of interest both for the compelling quality of the stories it tells and for the deep, resonant role it has played in Western culture. Acclaimed illustrator Gary Clement interprets these tales with respect and vitality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1244964 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–In her foreword, Lottridge states that she wanted to capture "the flavor of stories told and valued and passed on over a very long time." And she has achieved a sweet freshness in these retellings of 32 Bible tales. Her selections are faithful (e.g., there are two versions of the creation of humans, as in Genesis), but not exhaustive. Young readers won't encounter Noah's drunkenness or Lot's offer of his virgin daughters to the men of Sodom. God's curse after the Fall doesn't mention the sorrow of childbirth. Cain kills Abel, Jacob tricks his father and brother, but Bathsheba and Absalom are absent. Moses, Miriam, Ruth, David, Elijah (but no resurrection story), Jonah, Daniel, and Esther are among the familiar figures, both weak and strong, deftly passing in review. The retelling ends appropriately with the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Lottridge's phrasing is swift and forthright: the clear, plain words retain a noble gravity. Clement's 40 illustrations recall the great Warwick Hutton's: like the text, they have both immediacy and timelessness. Changes of scale and perspective remind viewers of the unexpected intervention of the divine and the unpredictability of human existence. Although stories from the Hebrew Bible are readily available, this collection commends itself by the combination of subtlety and simplicity in both words and pictures.–Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI
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From Booklist
Gr. 4-7, younger for reading aloud. Lottridge uses her storyteller's ear to bring ancient stories from the Hebrew Bible to a young audience, tailoring them to make them more age appropriate. Sometimes blending several stories together, she introduces the familiar characters--Adam and Eve, Abraham and his kin, Moses, Daniel--and writes about them in ways that bring them near. She easily slips in additional information that makes the stories more comprehensible; for instance, in discussing the relationship of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, she notes, "at that time many men had more than one wife." Still, as with most collections, there are no commentaries to help children understand some of the more startling stories, such as the binding of Isaac. The numerous, well-drawn ink-and-watercolor illustrations are reminiscent of Warwick Hutton's work. Some pictures, such as Joseph's greeting his brothers in an elaborately decorated Egyptian palace, are quite spectacular. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved