Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Jotham's Journey & Bartholomew's Passage by Arnold Ytreeide

I recently was sent two books from Kregel Publications and what a special treat it was. These books have been on my Amazon.com wish list for literally years, but have been out of print. So, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone and do a needed review with the Holiday Classics link up with Five Minutes for Books.

These two books are advent devotionals for children. Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent is the story of ten-year-old Jotham. His adventure takes him across Israel as he searches for his family. He faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers, Jotham also encounters friendly wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to his family - and to the Savior born in Bethlehem. (This book is actually on sale at a GREAT price on Amazon right now.)




Bartholomew's Passage is another advent storybook. Bartholomew's advent adventure starts when Roman soldiers destroy his village and disperse his family, and continue through his enslavement to a tyrannical master and his escape with his new friend Nathan. It ends with a reunion with his family in Bethlehem - just in time for Christ's birth.

(FYI, there is a third book in the series, Tabitha's Travels: A Family Story for Advent (Jotham's Journey Trilogy). It is still out of print right now).

I'll be honest and say that although I have been wanting to add these to my library for years, I'm not sure I will use them with my girls this year. After reading through them some, they seem to be more suited for a little bit older child (maybe starting with an 8-9 year old). Jotham's story starts out with his family thinking he has been killed by animals and he is left behind when his family moves their camp. I don't think the story is bad, per se, I just don't know that my girls are old enough to appreciate it.

For more holiday book recommendations, please check out Five Minutes for Books Children's Classics posts today!

5 comments:

  1. It's always good to have books put away for the future! :)

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  2. Enjoy them and yes, it does sound like it may be an idea to wait a bit.

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  3. Oooh--I think that I'm going to take up your suggestion. I LOVE amazon Bargain books. I read that someone read it with a 1st grader and 7th grader and edited some. We'll see if I end up sharing it with Kyle, but I think that it will be great to share with Amanda.

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  4. That is so fun when you get something that you've been wanting for a long time. And books that were out of print, no less! Did you mention these awhile back? I seem to recall them. However, I sure to appreciate the reminder so thanks for linking them up!

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Thanks for commenting!

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