The kids and I have been reading some new books my sister sent us and it's got us studying the lineage of Jesus. Our pastor is kind enough to answer questions as I stumble along. I'll give a short review of each one I've read so far.
The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud: It took me until the end of the book to understand how it is that tame animals would board the ark. It also took me the whole book to understand why they were speaking in accents before the time of the Tower of Babel. Apparently, in these books, animals are way ahead of humans. Once I understood these otherwise disturbing things, the book was good, if a little cutesy. I wasn't thrilled with the cat's assumption that her brains were sharper than anyone else's or that the little white dog was in such awe of the cat. And there was that niggling difference between shake and nod which the author didn't seem to have grasped.
What did I like about it, you may ask? I like how tricky and devious the snake is. I liked the image of the snake representing the devil. I like the character/life lessons throughout. The further into the book you get, the better it is. It reaches a true climax and then the things that are confusing in the beginning of the book are explained. Max's dependence on the Lord is exemplary.
The Dreamer, The Schemer, and the Robe is a much more mature work of fiction. Liz, the cat, is more sympathetic and is just a nicer character all around. Kate, the white dog, despite getting very little billing by staying with Joseph's brothers, is better developed as well. She needs to be more active in these books. We actually get less of Max in this book than any other. But Al, the orange cat, develops in his full glory. So basically, aside from some disturbingly modern language ~ thinking specifically of "how sad is that?"~ the only thing I have a quibble with in this book is that Max doesn't have enough development. Max's dependence on God, though still there, is less apparent in this book. There is a slight confusion as to whether the snake in this book is a good character or evil.
This is an easier book to read and having understood all the confusing variables of the last book, it's smoother. Everyone who read it in my family likes the addition of Nigel P. Monaco, the mouse. The book starts quite a bit quicker than the last and there's obviously much more factual information included which gives a person much more substance to "ingest."
The Epic Order of the Seven stories were fun reads, but didn't necessarily propel me into studying Old Testament history. No. It was actually A Lineage of Grace which actually roused me from my 'knowing God' slump and caused me to want to know Him better. This book is about five women, only two so far of whom I've read, who are Jesus' descendants. The author adheres to the Biblical account faithfully, only adding fictional dialogues and characters to amplify her story. The fictionalization is just enough to whet the appetite to read more of the story. She also did her homework, I can tell. She describes the landscapes and climates, professions people of those times might have, pagan religions and gods, even how imperative it was for a wife to fulfill her duty of bearing boys. These stories are very well researched and written. Having many kids and little time, I appreciate how quick and satisfying they are. Each has a Bible study following it, which a person can do alone or in a group. The most telling factor of how good these books are is that they encouraged me to pick up the Old Testament and read it again.
