Chil­dren’s

In the Begin­ning: My Sto­ry­book Bible

  • Review
By – November 25, 2024

This bright­ly illus­trat­ed vol­ume teach­es chil­dren about the Bible in a clear, easy-to-read way. Read­ers learn about Adam, Eve, and a host of charm­ing ani­mals, as well as their expul­sion from Eden. The book also fea­tures Abra­ham and Sarah, Hagar, and the Tow­er of Babel. The author gen­tly teach­es read­ers lessons by describ­ing Abra­ham’s joy at the birth of Isaac, Rebec­ca­’s care of thirsty camels, and the ten­sions between Jacob and Esau. The book goes on to explore Joseph’s sojourn in Egypt and his reunit­ing with his broth­ers, as well as the slav­ery of the Israelites and the birth of Moses, the leader who will bring them to free­dom. As the Jew­ish peo­ple trav­el through the desert toward the Promised Land, read­ers get a taste of their tri­als and triumphs.

The author shares help­ful tips for bring­ing these tales to life for an audi­ence of young peo­ple. This is a won­der­ful com­pi­la­tion of the foun­da­tion­al sto­ries of the Jew­ish peo­ple, one that can be used both in edu­ca­tion­al set­tings and at home.

Michal Hoschan­der Malen is the edi­tor of Jew­ish Book Coun­cil’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A for­mer librar­i­an, she has lec­tured on top­ics relat­ing to lit­er­a­cy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.

Discussion Questions