Here’s an excerpt from Who’s Who & Where’s Where in the Bible for Kids, a newly illustrated edition coming on May 1. It’s written for kids ages 8 and up.
For a look at some of the colorful pages, click the title link above.
MOSES had a big brother.
His name was Aaron. When he was 83 years old, Aaron went on a long walk into the desert to find his brother.
Moses and Aaron grew up in Egypt, beside the Nile River. Aaron and Moses were Jews. And Egypt was not a good place for them because Jews were slaves there.
The mean king forced Jews to make mud bricks and build cities.
Moses ran away from Egypt to another country and became a shepherd. But God wanted Moses to free the Jews. And God wanted Aaron to help him.
After Aaron found his brother, they went back to Egypt and gave the king a message from God: “Let my people go.”
The king said nobody could tell him what to do. Not even God.
The king said he was the boss of Egypt and he would keep the Jews as his slaves.
“If you don’t let them go,” Aaron warned, “God will make terrible things happen to your people.”
Just as Aaron promised, bad things started to happen. The Nile River turned blood red and the fish died. Bugs and frogs covered the land and ate the food. Egyptian people and their animals got sick.
Finally, the king said the Jews could go. So they all left for the country God promised them.
On the long walk, God made Moses the people’s leader. And he made Aaron their priest. Aaron’s job was to be the minister.
Aaron never got to see the Promised Land. The people disobeyed God so much that God ordered them to stay in the desert 40 years. Aaron stayed with them all that time, until he was 123 years old. When Aaron died, his oldest son became the next priest.
This started a long tradition. For more than 1,000 years, all the priests in Israel were relatives of Aaron.
I just got my daily blog via email and I said aloud, “Fantastic!”. What a great idea and after reading some of it very briefly it is perfect for any adult to convey key people and places in the bible without overdueing it (like I can do because I always want to make sure it is really clear). For example you too a sensitive issue with Absalom and still clearly told the story of him….brilliant!
I also think this book would be super wonderful for any adult who has never read the bible because it can get overwhelming sometimes. You have great information in this kid’s version, easy to read, and it allows the adult to dive in with a good, clean, idea, than can read it on their own with the details without so much confusion.
This makes a great gift. Bravo to you Steve. I almost have an entire shelf of your beloved books and I love them all.