We have waited two years to begin the book, Jotham’s Journey by Arnold Ytreeide. I was warned by my friends who LOVE this book that it can be a bit intense, even scary for little ones. K, who had just turned 6 at the time we heard about this story, was a bit anxious over scary things so we choose to wait until this year.
I am glad we waited, but I am SO thankful we finally got a chance to read this book. T, at age 6, was able to follow along and I suspect children in their early teen years would still enjoy this adventure.
Hands down…the girls ADORED this story. They begged for more every night. In fact, they begged for more even when it was over. I can’t tell you how much they (and I!) loved this tale!
Jotham is the youngest son of a shepherding family during the time before the birth of Christ. This is a fictional tale based in a historical time period, leading up to the birth of Christ.
It is broken down into daily readings for each day during the season of Advent. Each one concludes with a biblical lesson and a brief question for discussion.
AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME BOOK!
BUT, I will warn you that my friends who told me there were some scary parts were UNDERSTATING the intensity of this story. After being left by his family (who think he is dead), he undergoes HORRIFIC, yet exciting, adventures. He is taken by an evil man who tries to sell him into slavery and who continues to chase him throughout the book.
He witnesses a killing, has a sword held to his throat, and is chased through a cave of bodies.
This is not a story for the fainthearted. In fact, I was getting quite worried after the first few days, but then it seemed to be getting better. Suddenly the chapter left us with a man holding a sword to Jotham’s throat saying, “We’'ll see what kind of price we can get for you.”
I stopped at the end of the chapter, looking up to see how my girls would react and they both blurted out, “KEEP GOING, MOMMY!” I couldn’t believe it!
They LOVED this book. Did I already mention that?
It truly was a highlight of our Advent. We read it each evening at bedtime or during the day when we had a quiet moment. D (age 3) was sometimes in the room or around, but this story was definitely over his head. K and T (ages 8 and 6) were ALL OVER IT! I am sure they will love the other ones in the series!
Of course, they are gonna be thrilled that I found an Easter Tale by the same author!
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4 comments:
I couldn't agree more with your recommendation for this book. We read it for the first time as well this year and we all loved it!
Our neighbor had told us about it last year, so I was looking forward to it all year.
You're right though, I thought too that the first days were a little "rough" but then it got more calm.
Looking forward to the other books as well! Especially one for Easter!
We read it this year too. That's funny. Though we started it late and actually just finished today (new years eve). I was amazed at the discussions the boys had with me after reading this story. My 8 year old was sad it was over today and said he hopes we read it again next year.
Next year you could read tabitha's Travels - your girls might like that. And then the following year, Bartholomew's Passage. And then back to Jotham. We are HUGE fans of these books!!
Thank you! I want to tuck this nugget away for next year as well as the Jesse Tree ideas.
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