Customer Reviews

A First Book of Jewish Bible Stories

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

 

 

This book is a beautiful book from an illustration perspective. However, it is not for bedtime reading with young children. The stories are quite detailed, and reading verbatim will take longer than anticipated. This book is best suited for the motivated child who reads well.

As well, the book is titled as a Jewish Bible story book. However, the table of contents lists the stories as being part of the Old Testament, a clearly Christian perspective.

The stories in this book are eloquently told. I agree with the reviewer who thought that some of the content to have a slightly christian slant on these biblical stories; but not to an extent that I (as a Jewish parent) found problematic. The stories are fairly long and detailed, and are unlikely to hold the attention of a child younger than 7.

As a monotheist but neither Jewish nor Muslim, it has been almost impossible for me to find Bible/Religious stories to read to my 6 year old daughter. 99% of the books are Christian based, and their interpration of their "Old Testament" is either foreign to non-Christians or they see everything as proof of the existance of their christ-god. Jewish books typically focus on Jewish Holidays and their Bible books aren't really made for young children. And I have been unable to find any Islamic books that cover these classic Bible stories.

So I was thrilled when I took a chance on this book. Great pictures, age appropriate words and the stories were wonderfully told.

My only disappointment is that there are only 6 or 7 stories - and I can find no other more in the series!

Don't be misled by the title. This is not just for Jewish children. This is HIGHLY recommended for anyone of any faith who wants to teach their children some of the classic stories from Hebrew Scripture.

I have been reading this book to my 5 year old grandchild. Regardless of whether a parent intends to raise a child in a religious household, I believe it is important that children understand their cultural heritage, which includes knowing the stories that make up their (and their ancestors') religious heritage. When we read the stories in this book, we also talk about what they mean or the lesson being taught. The lovely illustrations help hold my grandson's interest. When we come across the few words with which he may not be familiar, I tell him what they mean. It is amazing how much a child retains. I will leave it up to my grandchildren to decide what they want to believe when they are older. I agree with reviewers who note that this book is as appropriate for Christians as for Jews.

I looked for a long time to find a book of Bible stories that were not part of a Christian collection, but were aimed at younger children. I was very glad to come across this one! I am unclear why previous reviews consider this to be Christian? The table of contents does not say anything about the "Old Testament", so perhaps this was only in a previous addition? The pictures are vibrant and compelling, and the language is simple and clear. The pictures alone are enough to bring my children back to this book over and over and over, but my five year old requests certain stories over and over, and my older children (10 and 12) are easily able to read these stories to their younger sibling without stumbling over words. Personally, I do use these as bedtime stories. The pictures are beautiful, and the stories short enough to be easily finished in less than 15 minutes. Definitely recommended.