Customer Reviews

Jerusalem, Shining Still

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It is a great pity that this book is out of print, because it is a lovely work of art, both visually and verbally. The story of Jerusalem is told in a beautiful, poetic style, with certain themes circling and echoing through the text ("When times are bad, they will get better"). The author does an amazing job of giving children the sense of the vast sweep of time, and of the ebb and flow of peoples who have come and gone from the Holy Land. The book does not talk down to children; instead, it leads them along, using ancient forms of repetition to reinforce their memory for each stage of Jerusalem's history. This book is a gem. If you can get the on-tape version, you will be delighted both by the voice of the storyteller and of the background music. This book has become part of my storytelling library; it will take some practice to memorize it all, but what a wonderful, shining story to tell!

A nice children's overview of the history of Jerusalem. It's amazing to see how many times the city has changed hands and all the peoples that have passed through. The text is interesting enough reading. The flow of peoples through the city is repeated several times in order throughout the text to try to impress some of it upon the reader's memory.

This book touches on religious themes, such as accounting David and Goliath as fact (including his 9 ft height), and mentioning Jesus (nothing is said about Him as God, it would all be compatible with Him being simply a good teacher). Islam's attachment to the city is also touched on.

The woodcut illustrations are not my style at all. It's slightly better than no illustrations, since this is a children's book, but I would have much preferred a completely different style.

Still, we are Bible-believing Christians. This is a very helpful book to present a brief overview of the city of Jerusalem.