The Big Fall: The Grandchildren's Bible Journeys

Brenda Ricchi has used her love for her grandchildren, and her passion for Christ to develop The Grandchildren's Bible Journeys series. In the second book, The Big Fall, Ricchi's grandchildren travel back in time to the Garden of Eden, and witness Adam and Eve's first sin.

Bryce and Ella have already traveled back in time through their grandparent's storage closet, but Ireland and Cole are a little scared. They walk through fog until they find themselves in a beautiful garden. Ella quickly realizes it is the Garden of Eden, and they watch as God instructs Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. As the children continue watching, the snake tempts Adam and Eve and God banishes them from Eden.

The children are sad and cry as they watch, but they remember they do things wrong too. Ella asks her brother and cousins to make a pact with her to do their best to obey their parents and God. All of the children are relieved to come out of the storage area and have a cookout with their families.

The third chapter of Genesis is included at the end of the book.

What I Like: Ricchi has a clever idea and she obviously takes joy in her grandchildren. The modern portion of the story is set at a family gathering, and Ricchi's strong sense of family and tradition is clearly evident. Her grandchildren will treasure these books for generations.

Ricchi compares the Garden of Eden to Busch Gardens, and the children are in awe of Eve's beauty. The pictures support the text, and it is fun to see Ricchi's grandchildren, as well as the storage closet their grandpa built.

What I Dislike: Ricchi uses the same computerized image three pages in a row, and simply changes the position of the children. Also, the digital pictures sometimes cast odd shadows on the children's faces.

Ricchi relies heavily on narration, telling us what is going on, instead of using direct dialogue and action. There are too many words on the page, which makes it hard to stay focused on the story.

Overall Rating: Good

Age Appeal: 9-12, but the children in the book are younger

Publisher Info: Lulu Press, 2009; ISBN: 978-0-557-38645-1; Paperback, 29 pages, $15.51

Buy it at Amazon.com for $15.51.

Special Info: Check out our review of Ricci's The Creation Story here.