Written by Tim Dowley, Paul's Travels shares the story of Paul from the New Testament: how he persecuted the new Christians, then had a revelation from Jesus and turned from his ways. Told from Paul's point of view, this book follows all four of Paul's journeys through Asia and southern Europe. It highlights all the major parts of Paul's story from the book of Acts, including getting locked in prison, writing to Philemon and Timothy, and requesting to be tried in Rome by Nero. It is definitely informative, though not always entertaining.What I Like: There is a lot to like about this book. Not only does it share biblical history, but it has tidbits and pictures about what life was like during this time period.
The maps shown in the book also reference passages in Acts so your child can look up what the Bible has to say.
I found it unusual, but more personal, that the story was told from Paul's point of view. This lasted until the last page when a brief explanation was made that no one knows for sure what happened to Paul after his letters to Timothy.
What I Dislike: I found the enclosed letters difficult to remove and replace in the envelopes in the book. If it was difficult for an adult, I can only imagine how an eight-year-old will manage, and I would guess that the letters would quickly become torn and unreadable/unusable - and the information on them is valuable to the progression of the book. Also, the "handwriting" used on the letters was periodically difficult to read, more due to the font rather than the size.
Overall Rating: Good
Age Appeal: 8 - 12
Publishing Info: Candle Books (imprint of Lion Hudson plc), 2009; ISBN: 978-0-9254-7383-8; Hardback $14.99.
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2 comments:
Despite the drawbacks you mentioned that seems like a really neat book. I love hearing about Paul's journey and witness but I do think that some parts of his life might be a little- dull for children. It's nice to see someone has created something informative for children....
Thanks for the review!
It was a very informative book, I do give that to the author. There were a few things on the history aspect I was surprised about.
And, if you really don't mind the letters getting torn up, they're good too. I'd probably recommend making a copy of the letters in case they do get torn up--and copy paper will be so much easier to remove (and maybe fold!) than the heavy, glossy paper the publisher used.
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