68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
NOT for CATHOLICS, July 8, 2008
This review is from: The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children (Hardcover)
François Roca is a renowned illustrator of over 30 children's books; his artistry is extraordinary. He lives in Paris, and subsequently most of the books he illustrates are written in French. When his beautiful illustrations on the life of Jesus were to be given English text, the publisher selected Katherine Paterson.
Unfortunate selection.
Ms. Paterson took it upon herself to change Jesus' words at the last supper to suit her own agenda.
Instead of children reading, "this is my body," they now get "this is LIKE my body." (Emphasis mine). Instead of reading, "this is my blood," they now get, "this is LIKE my blood."
What's next, "I am LIKE the light of the world"? "I am LIKE the savior"?
I bought this book to read to my daughters, based on the strength of a national reviewer's syndicated column, which, unfortunately, omitted Ms. Paterson's embroideries upon the text. I write this review to inform Christians of the writer's non-textual based insertions.
The Bible (King James version quoted below) is unambiguous regarding the words of Jesus at the last supper:
Mark 14:22 reads:
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
Luke 22:19 reads:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Matthew 26:26 reads:
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
John 6:52-55 reads:
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
John 6:58 reads:
This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
1 Cor. 11:27-29 reads:
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Suffice it to say Ms. Paterson's additions to Jesus' words will be offensive to Catholics such as myself, and ruin an otherwise gorgeous publication. But I would suspect that non-Catholic Christians who consider scripture sacred, particularly the words of Jesus being read to children, will likewise appreciate being informed when a writer decides to augment Jesus' words.
If you buy this book for the beautiful illustrations, it would be truer to sacred scripture to white out Ms. Paterson's additions to Jesus' words.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful art, but a note to Catholics..., May 14, 2008
This review is from: The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children (Hardcover)
This book is beautiful - in terms of artwork, and the story is simple and straightforward. As a Catholic, however, I was disappointed that at the last supper Jesus says the bread is "like" His body, and the wine is "like" His blood... My faith doesn't teach that the bread is "like" His body, but IS His body. So even though the book is beautiful, I won't be reading it (or I'll be editing how I read it) to my kids.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
