God's People: Stories from the Old Testament

by Geraldine McCaughrean, Anna C. Leplar (Illustrator)

Reflecting the poetry and character of the King James Version of the Bible, and complemented by quotations from it, a retelling of thirty-two stories from the Old Testament is illustrated with full-color illustrations.

Genres: Mythology

120 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this a three overall. I would say the writing style is very good. I could not rate it higher because it is far from being Biblically accurate. If you view the Bible stories as mythology, then this is the book for you. If you view them as a believer, you will have to make a lot of accompanying edits and explanations as you share this with your children. I explained to my son that the writer was telling the stories from a secular standpoint and pointed out the inaccuracies as we went through.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as an extension of our "Story of the World' curriculum. I couldn't believe how much B. was into these stories. I thought we'd read a few of the more famous ones and call it a day but she wanted to read it cover to cover. There were a few ringers but mostly they did tell a great and surprisingly cogent/connected story. From the tone of these stories B. immediately "got" why each one was written - the "lesson" it was trying to teach and was quick to point out similarities to other early myths/legends/folk belief stories we've read from other cultures. You probably wouldn't like this book if you hold the bible versions of the stories to be 100% historically true. (The creation story specifically mentions evolution, for example.) Worked for us though!

I wish there was a New Testament version!

Updated: 12/22/12 - Had to renew from the library because B. wanted to read this again.

*There is a New Testament version - just put it on hold!

Edited: Re-read March 2016 because it became clear B. didn't remember many/if any of the stories. B., age 12, was very shocked by the wrath of the old testament God in this one and couldn't believe people would want to worship a God that a)told them to do things like that and b) treated people that way. Very interesting.