Time To Love: Stories From The Old Testament [Hardcover]

Walter Dean Myers (Author), Christopher Myers (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: A Time To Love | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Like Anita Diamont's bestselling THE RED TENT, this stunning collaboration from an award-winning father & son team finds inspiration in the world's most profound & influential literary work, the Bible

Combining the power of his finest fiction w/ the exquisite language of his poetry, Walter Dean Myers retells 6 stories from the Old Testament--all w/ YA narrators. Some stories are well known (Samson&Delilah), others less so (Aser&Gamiel). Some are straightforward (Ruth&Naomi). Others are complicated & challenging (Abraham&Isaac). But like the bloodlines that connect many of these biblical figures, a common theme courses through their stories: LOVE. Christopher's arresting artwork is grounded in the traditions of classical art but is infused with a vision and soul all his own.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-These stories from the Hebrew scriptures tell familiar tales of Samson, Joseph, Ruth, Abraham, Lot, and Moses. The first-person narrators, however, are usually secondary characters: when Delilah tells the story, its focus shifts in an interesting way, to explore human love and betrayal. Just before the Exodus, the speaker is a boy whose best friend is a first-born Egyptian who does not survive the last plague. Reuben tells how their betrayal of Joseph (whose coat is not "many-colored") affects the loyal brothers. Lot's youngest daughter reveals her disillusionment with her father. (Isaac, a bit less convincingly, increases his faith in his father, even as he is bound on the altar.) The artwork, in various media, is variously successful. The quasi-Egyptian illustrations are delightful, the pencil drawings for Samson are accomplished, and the silhouette/collage pictures for Joseph are especially effective at suggesting the wider applications of the story. However, the artist's decision to depict Ruth, Naomi, and Orpah as black women sits oddly with the setting in Moab/Judah, and Lot's daughters have South Indian dress and features while their mother appears to be African. The reflections of Myers and his sons on their own spiritual journeys, in supplementary essays, add a worthwhile personal dimension to this contemporary effort at midrash.
Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Myers provocatively retells six stories from the Old Testament, writing each in the first person, though not usually the person one expects. Delilah introduces Samson, whom she both loves and fears, and explains why she thinks his destruction will save her people. Joseph's brother, Reuben, tells of fraternal jealousy and forgiveness, and Zillah, daughter of Lot, provides a glimpse of her mother's life that might explain why she turned for one last look at Sodom. Myers' thoughtful introduction explains how and why these multilayered stories entice across the ages, defining love and the many ways it appears in his choices. This is an exquisitely designed book, rich in color. Christopher Myers' illustrations, in mixed media and collage, accompany each story; a handsome font is used on textured backgrounds; and display headers and numbers are colorful and unusual. Chaplain Michael Dean Myers, the author's elder son, offers a preface that finds the human element in these retellings. Suitable across many faiths, these stories show their power once again. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439220009
• ISBN-13: 978-0439220002
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,710,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Dean Myers is a New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author who has garnered much respect and admiration for his fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people. Winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, he is considered one of the preeminent writers for children. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson in Perspective, October 20, 2003

By 

Lisa Johannes (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time To Love: Stories From The Old Testament (Hardcover)

Love comes in many forms-the love of a brother, of a father, of God, and the love for your community. All of these forms of love are written about in unique perspectives as Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers consider the stories of love from the Bible.

We read of Sampson, but here this tragic tale from the perspective of Delilah, who gives us insight into how and why she betrayed the man she loved. The story of Isaac and Abraham is told from Isaac's point of view, and the reader is emotionally moved at the moment when he realizes that he is the sacrifice his father is making that day on the mountain. The story of Naomi and her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth is told from the voice of Ruth who watches the discrimination her mother-in-law suffers because she is travelling with these two women from Moab. And Lot's daughter, Zillah, tells of her struggles in trying to understand how her father is going to follow his heart and lead the city of Sodom away from their destructive ways.

The stories in A Time to Love, though directly translated (albeit with literary license) from the Bible, seem to be more about right and wrong than they are about studying a particular religion. The stories are easy to read and understand, yet require a great deal of thinking about how events happen and how people make the choices they make.

The concepts presented-honestly, truth, morality, trust, devotion, love, responsibility-are excellent choices for maturing young adults. The introductions to the stories are thoughtful and offer great insight into why this book was written and how it relates to today's youth.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another human side to famous bible stories, August 15, 2006

By 

Vilma L. Enriquez Haass (Culver City, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time To Love: Stories From The Old Testament (Hardcover)

This book is fascinating and captivating. Myers has a gift in telling stories about young people and their lives. This time he has done it with bible characters. He reminds the reader that some familiar bible characters were just teenagers. This realization gave me a new perspective and more appreciation for these characters.

As a mother of a teen, I bought this book for him but I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The stories made me laugh and cry and even help me put words to some experiences I had as a teenager. The book captured my heart because I was able to empathize with Delilah, Joseph, Reuben and Zillah as they dealt with their dreams, fears, disappointments and their faith. The main message of this book is that people are people and that although we live in different times and cultures we face similar dilemmas with our parents, siblings, partners and parents in law.

I highly recommend this book because it sheds light to characters that play secondary roles in these stories while remaining true to the facts.