Journey Into the Bible - Book Review

Journey Into the Bible
by Lois Rock
Age 9-12, 48 pages
Lion Publishing
ISBN: 978-0745960883
Purchase on Amazon for $11.69


About the book:

If only you could have stood and watched as the great stories of the Bible unfolded in the ancient world...


This exciting, time-travel book combines fascinating facts and "travel tips" with intriguing pictures and maps to take all young explorers on a guided tour of the ancient world of the Bible and its people. Drawing you into foreign lands and epic journeys, from the beginning of time itself, you will be given a tourist’s-eye view of the people and empires that provided the setting for the Bible’s key stories.


Each stop on your journey allows you to learn about the people and events associated with that place as well as offering astonishing glimpses of what archaeologists have uncovered. "Travel tips" give you useful information for your journey--what food and weather to expect, where to stay, what sort of festivals you might experience, and what souvenirs are worth looking out for!



My thoughts:
This very interesting book is a great introduction to anthropology and the study of the people of the Bible. Using 20 of the stories from the Bible your children learn about the languages, the lifestyles, the culture and the peoples during Biblical times. Most of the stories are illustrated on a double page spread, many with cross cuts of the houses, "vignettes" that show the passage of time (a year of plowing, planting, harvesting and gathering) through the seasons, and includes "travel tips" so your kids will know what to expect if they lived during the time of a particular story. There are also explanations of who a person was in a story - an example would be Samson and why he was a important part of Israel's history.


History includes: Adam & Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Jerusalem, Babylon, Nazareth, fishing in Capernaum, Galilee, Bethany, Throughout the Empire, and more...


Extend the Book:

1. Create your own "search & find" - put them on 3x5 cards and keep them in the car for something for the kids to do on long drives or in restaurants.
2. Create a list of discussion questions based on the pictures or text in the book.
3. Have your family build a replica of the tabernacle based on scripture and examples in the book 
4. Click here for help putting together your own activities.
5. What else can you do with a book like this?

Warning: Please be careful when asking questions or creating activities for your children to do that you ALWAYS bring scripture/versus to their attention and encourage your kids to turn to the Bible for their answers. These kind of books are wonderful for the visual aspect but should not take the place of the Bible - which is God's word to us. 


About the author:
Lois Rock is an, author, editor and illustrator of children’s books and has edited and written many of the Lion Children’s Books including My Very First Christmas, A Child’s First Book of Prayer, The First Rainbow and The Lion Encyclopedia. Lois lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and three children and in her spare time loves long walks and leading children’s church groups, which she has done for many years. Lois Rock has also written many other children’s books that are filled with great information that help children to learn and discover more about the Bible, the Church and Jesus, one of her recent child’s information books is The Jesus Encyclopedia.


Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of each of these books to review on CCB. No positive review was required and I wasn't paid any $ for my opinion. Thanks Kregel Publishing!