Customer Reviews

Exodus =

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was looking for a meatier version of the Moses story for my third grader. He's very accustomed to hearing the stories in Sunday School, and of course has seen all the kids' movies about Moses. But since we were studying Old Testament history, I was looking for something that would challenge him a little more.

I liked this book by Miriam Chaikin more than I thought. After checking out some of her other books and not liking them as much, I was a little wary of what she would put into this story. But it walks through the basic plotline in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers very well. It begins with Moses' birth and ends with the construction of the Tabernacle (i.e. NOT Moses' death). And it is a higher reading level than most kids' books on Moses, without being too difficult. It is perfect for 3rd-4th grade, actually.

That said, it does skip some parts of the story, especially the complaining sequence through Numbers. It seems slightly abbreviated overall.

Moreover, I did not like the illustrations at all. In fact, it is the one reason why I would not purchase this book. They are, frankly, quite ugly. The colors are dark, the faces are usually angry, and there is a chaotic feeling on each page, as many figures are lumped together and overlap. Perhaps this was a conscious choice by the illustrator, since Moses and Israelites were quite a crowd! But it was hard to make sense of most of the pictures without really studying them. Moses does look Middle Eastern, which is nice, and he looks strong and the right age as well (i.e. forty). But you'd think there could be a nice picture of the Tabernacle or Moses up on Mt. Sinai or something.

In conclusion,I have to recommend Leonard Everett Fisher's "Moses" for the same story with much better eye appeal.