The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star

Epic Order of the Seven #3

by Jenny L. Cote

The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star launches the Epic Order of the Seven series, picking up where The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz left off. The Maker has been building a team of animal friends for thousands of years to be his envoys for pivotal points of history.
With this new, critical mission, the team will finally be completed by Messiah and known forevermore as the Order of the Seven. A talking, musical scroll, a pigeon-flying-and-camel-driving mouse, a writing cat, a courageous lamb, and two lion-fighting dogs provide non-stop action in this adventure that brings the Christmas story to life as never before. You will be astounded at the accuracy and perfection of the prophecies and God’s unfolding plan to bring Jesus into the world.
The seven hundred–year mission begins long before the Nativity, as animal friends Max, Liz, Al, Kate, and Nigel work with Isaiah, who prophesies about the coming Messiah. The team intervenes with the Assyrians that threaten to take Jerusalem and prove Isaiah’s prophecies false. They go with faithful Daniel and friends into the Babylonian captivity for the heart-pounding thrills of the fiery furnace and the lions’ den. They meet Gabriel as he appears to Daniel, and hide a secret scroll of prophecy for the wise men to someday discover as they study the Star. The book climaxes with the unfolding Christmas story as the animals once again see Gabriel with Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.
Experience the hardships of Mary and Joseph as they obediently accept their calling to parent Messiah. Joyfully watch God provide for their every need through a lovable Jewish rabbi who dares to believe them and an unlikely Roman soldier who protects them. The shepherds and the wise men never know their steps are guided by these small animals that lead them to baby Jesus. Relentless in his pursuit is the evil lion, who seeks to devour them and stop the unfolding events leading to Messiah’s birth.

Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Fantasy, Biblical Fiction

653 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2012

About the author

Award winning author, speaker and producer Jenny L. Cote developed an early passion for God, history and young people, and beautifully blends these passions together in her two fantasy fiction series, The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz® and Epic Order of the Seven®. Likened to C.S. Lewis by book reviewers and bloggers, Jenny L. Cote opens up the world of creative writing for students of all ages and reading levels through fun, highly interactive workshops. Jenny has appeared to over 30,000 students at lower, middle, high school and universities in the US and abroad. Jenny's passion for research has taken her to London (with unprecedented access to Handel House Museum to write in Handel's composing room), Oxford (to stay in the home of C.S. Lewis, 'the Kilns', and interview Lewis' secretary, Walter Hooper), Ireland, Paris, Normandy, Rome, Israel, and Egypt. Her books are available online and in stores around the world, as well as in multiple e-book formats (Kindle, Nook, etc.). Jenny holds two marketing degrees from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University. She lives in Roswell, Georgia, with her family.

Reviews

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a gem this book is! Do you love Biblical history? Are you looking for a way to impart "the big picture" of Scripture to your kids? If so, read on. The ultimate theme of the book is the Christmas story, but before you get to Bethlehem, the book delves into the Old Testament -- Isaiah, Hezekiah, Daniel, and more -- for the express purpose of exploring the prophecies of Messiah. The OT characters really come to life in these sections. The book is written for the tween-aged audience, and the fictional elements woven throughout make HIStory very accessible for that age group. (It would be a great read-aloud for school-age kids.) You may be thinking, "Talking animals? Huh? Totally not the sort of thing I'd enjoy." And honestly, I probably would have said that myself. But the more I read this book, the more the "framework" of the story sank into the background, leaving the TRUTH of God's amazing plan front and center. I enjoyed it so much and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Quickie Review

I usually enjoy Biblical fiction, but, I found this book to be overly long and tedious. While the fictional embellishments were nice, the whole thing with the talking animals was just unnecessary and dumb. Still, it had its good moments, which is why it gets two stars.

Score: 2/5

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Biblical history, you will love this book. Jenny has done a great job on this book and this is one of the better book she has written that I have read. God is defiantly the main focus point in this book, and if you love adventure books you will find this book a joy to read. I found myself eager to turn the page to see what happens next. It is a nail biting, God filled story. Five stars plus!

[Pristine]

Summary: The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star spans the events of Isaiah the Prophet all the way through the birth of Jesus. Max, Liz, Al, and Kate are assigned with their most important job yet: protecting the prophets that will prophesy about the Messiah, helping the nation of Israel to survive through exile and cruel kings, and ensuring the birth of Jesus himself will be exactly where it needs to be. But the Enemy is not going just stand by and let the Epic Order of the Seven protect the Saviour of the World. Of course not, he’s going to do everything in his power to prevent the birth of the Messiah. Will the animals be up to the task? They’re faced with new difficulties, but also new help as well. Aided with pigeon transports, talking scrolls, and humorous camels and donkeys, the lovable animal team will stop at nothing to ensure that salvation for humanity will be birthed successfully.

Worldviews: Jenny L. Cote is a Christian author, and I found nothing theologically wrong or chronologically incorrect. I love the way she teaches the Bible as real history and not just a story. It was also interesting to see the way she linked the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, etc., all the way to the birth of Jesus. It really gave me a sense of the bigger picture. And her portrayal of the Nativity was amazing as well.

Foul Language: There was one mention of General Rabshekah, (a general in the army of King Sennacherib, read your Old Testament) cursing, but no specific words were given. That was literally all I could find.

Violence: There wasn’t a whole lot….let me rephrase that……there wasn’t a whole lot of detail. That’s better. What I mean by that is yes, there was definitely violence. If you’ve read the entire Nativity, you know what comes after His birth. The slaughter of the innocents. Cote handled that pretty well though. There was also some Herod drama, as when some of his spies displeased him…😵.
There was also some classic sieges and army scenes in the Old Testament scenes in the beginning. It also covered the Fiery Furnace and Daniel in the Lion’s Den scene, and while Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren’t harmed, the other soldiers and officials were. But again, there wasn’t a whole lot of detail.

Romance: Practically very little. The King Sennacherib, who I mentioned earlier, had multiple wives, but polygamy was a popular practice back then. I am not condoning it. Also, you know about Mary and Joseph, all of that stuff that went down before Joseph had his dream. But again, Cote handled it very well, and it’s all very appropriate.

Alcohol: There was some mention of drinking wine, but that’s it.

Rating and recommended age level: I’m going to rate this 4.5 stars! So close to 5, but the reason I’m keeping it at 4.5 is because I like other books in the series more than this one. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it! It’s definitely better than the first two, but not quite as good as the next one. As for my recommended age level, I’m going to say 10-11+, leaning more to the 11 side just because of the length. It’s going to take 10 year olds a while, probably, depending on their reading speed. The content is certainly appropriate for 9 year olds, I think, I’m just not sure if they can sit through the entire book and actually be able to appreciate it all fully. 


[Brenna Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, as a Christian, I am not a fan of Christian Fiction in general, because 1) I find it pointless. We have the Bible + true accounts of salvation, why do we need to come up with new fictional ones? 2) the creative liberties in Biblical retellings are usually *too* creative for my liking, and 3) Most are sadly and upsettingly BORING. But thankfully, this book was not the case. It was actually really good and entertaining, better than what I was expecting.

My 12-year old brother, after finishing this book and loving it, really wanted me to read it too. So, I accepted the task of reading this mammoth of a book. This knocks 1/2 star off my rating. Not only is this book 500+ pages, the words are relatively tiny and packed on each page. It's a LOT to read. There are slow parts, and IMO, a lot of unnecessary dialogue between the animals and what is taking place. But what kept me from DNF'ing this book were the explanations and historical context around the Biblical stories unfolding. That hooked me. I learned a lot reading this book. The main positive this book has left me is a stronger and immediate desire to read the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel.

For the other 1/2 star I knocked off my rating, it came down to the main characters of the book - I find it weird that they're immortal. Not only that, some of them have DIED and God Himself brought them back from the dead as immortal beings to be in charge of missions He assigns them to. Missions which of course, hold no real weight in the Biblical narrative, because if they did, that would be blasphemous, no? It was too much of a stretch for me. And there is one specific creative liberty in this book between one of the animals and baby Jesus that I disliked. SPOILER: Jesus curing the blemish from Clarie the Lamb's face. It was unnecessary for the author to write this random baby Jesus miracle. I thought Clarie's character arc was for her to accept her blemish and to learn to love and accept herself, but NO, newborn baby Jesus stroked her face and BOOM blemish gone. What a better way to exemplify the power and love of Christ, but with made-up stories of this power and love? (I hope you detect my sarcasm here).

But overall, I would recommend this book for anyone 10+ who may be unfamiliar with the Biblical passages covered in this story. This book is a good gateway into wanting to further study the Word of God. My reason for not recommending it to children under 10 is because I feel with the blend of fact and fiction in this book, it may be difficult for younger children to decipher between the two… All in all, a 4-star read that left me pleased.

[Sheepard6 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful story!

The way Jenny L. Cote has brought these stories to life never ceases to amaze me! I absolutely loved the third installment of her series of how the Maker uses everyone to make his perfect plan.

The way each part fits together, the foreshadowing, the ease of flow, the references and meanings of each symbol make this an easy 5-star rated book. I am so excited to read the next book, along with lots of my friends!

#dexonthecover2021

[Mariah Raichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!!! I love how it starts out with the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and then Daniel. And then years later Max, his loved one Kate, Liz and her loved one Al and Nigel go to the time when Jesus was born and also the insights and how she had her inspiration from Rick Larson about the constellations.

[Dailyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite I return to yearly as I review the prophecies of Jesus & look forward to celebrating His birth. This book brought a new depth of understanding about the fulfillment of prophecies & is so filled with historical & linguistic context that I use it as a study devotional. So grateful for this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pages of this book were prophecies from Isaiah and others. If you want your child to have a full picture of God's revelation of Jesus hundreds of years before his birth, have them read this fun and entertaining novel! They will enjoy it and learn.

[Cindy Damman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two books of this series were page turners. Fiction, but really got into the Bible story. This one was much more difficult to get into and really stretched reality. Still a great story about the birth of Christ but a little more far out there than the others.

[Blue Sapphire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book! There were so many moments that gave me goosebumps and absolute chills! I lived learning about the amount of times the number 7 appears in nature and throughout the Bible as God’s “fingerprint”. I look forward to reading others in the series!

[Jamie Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so incredibly well written! I own the audio version and print version of this one, and will enjoy rereading it by listening to Denny. She does such a great job blending history, scripture, and imagination - it is delightful!

[Joey Peacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long time to read aloud but a great read to get a prophetic sense of Jesus.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it to my children. Made me cry (all the time), laugh, and deepened my testimony and understanding of the scriptures, the prophets, and my Savior in a fun way. Highly recommend it!

[Martha Davis]

Magnificent story...this is an incredible series for kids.

[Tayler Carlisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.
I love these animals!

[HEATHER WILKINS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the spiritual insights in this book.
As an adult reader, the antics of the animals get a bit tedious, but just as I started to skip over, there would be a gem of truth sparkling on the page. I was constantly sharing paragraphs with my husband.

I'm reading "The Roman, The Twelve & The King" now. Easy summer holiday stuff, and I've recently enjoyed a performance of "The Messiah", so there's a real connection with the story.

Can't wait for my grandchildren to be old enough to share these these books.
Heather

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It is super informative about how numbers 7 and 6 are related in the spiritual realm and it shares some super cool information those numbers too. At the beginning of The Prophet the Shepherd and the Star, Max Kate Liz Nigel and Al get there message for there mission in a bottle that comes when they are at the Dead Sea. Gillimon says to be careful of lions because they will be The Evil One in this book. He also says to protect the scroll at all costs. Right as Gillimon disappears into the Scroll the animals hear lions coming after them so they run as fast as they can with only one break. When they make it to a shepherds field the shepherds protect them from the lions and their mission begins. First, they go to see the prophet Isaiah and they stay with him for a while and Liz helps him especially with him prophesying about Jesus. Next (after a 70-year break) they go see Daniel as a teenager as he's taken into Babylon. The animals stay with him until he is about 85 and they see him get thrown into the lion's den. Finally, they travel to see Mary and Joseph and there trails about Mary being pregnant before she was born and the birth of Jesus and who comes to see him and what dangers he is put through. Max and Kate meet a lamb who has a blemish and it is their duty to take care of her because she knows that she will not be sacrificed because she is not perfect.
If you love books about animals and cliffhangers into the next book then you will be fascinated about how Jenny L. Cote wrote this book throughout the course of 700 years!

[Katie Foth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a loan from an 11-year-old girl who really enjoyed the book (her favorite in the series so far). The author certainly undertook a huge task, starting the re-telling of the birth of Christ with the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Micah from the viewpoint of the animals involved. Because the time period extends over 700 years, the story line seemed less cohesive to me. The two dogs (Max and Kate), two cats (Liz and Al), white mouse (Nigel), and mountain goat Gillamon) now become the epic order of the seven. The author does not disclose the 7th member, but some possibilities could be the lamb Clarie (probably the most likely since she sacrificed her life to save baby Jesus), the donkey Amos (who carries Baby Jesus to Egypt), or the pigeon Millie (who flies Nigel around) or the camel (Lawrence of Arabia). The author did a good bit of research and adds imaginative elements... Have to applaud her efforts, as it's not easy to bring fresh elements to a well-worn story and not contradict. I can see why my young friend enjoyed the story. But I felt some elements were more contrived (friendship with Marcus Antonius family and Mary's journal) and more preachy than in her first two books (tons of quotations and explanations/interpretations).

[Kassidy Lemmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star is a great book by Jenny L Cote, about 2 cats, 2 dogs and a mouse, who were chosen by the Maker(God) to be immortal and carry out missions to help the people the Maker has chosen. First they help a prophet, Isaiah. They give him comfort, make sure his prophecies play out, and copy down his prophecies of Messiah. Next they help Daniel. They bring him joy in a strange place, learn from him, pray for him, and give him the prophecies of Isaiah. Lastly they help Mary and Joseph. They help them in the hard time of Mary getting pregnant before they were married, they help them and guide them to Bethlehem, and they witness the birth of Jesus. Throughout this whole book they are combating against Lucifer, who is constantly searching for ways to make sure Jesus is never born. I really enjoyed the book, and would definitely recommend it to others. The author does a great job taking biblical truths (all the prophecies in her book were straight out of the bible!) and making them entertaining and fun to read by adding fun characters and a great story line! This book is the third in the series, and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book - but not having kids I wonder if it might be a difficult read, and subject matter, for a younger child. Cote did a great job of tying prophecy and history together. The book spans from just before Isaiah to the birth of Jesus. Cote of course takes liberties - but appropriate ones in my opinion. While the book is, I think, intended for youth, I would recomend it to adults as well. Well done! I look forward to the next book!

[Charissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read anything quite like this...it reminded me more of a screenplay for a kid's animated Bible adventure but I was truly drawn in by the amazing gift Jenny has of bringing Scripture and prophecy to life in ways I've never seen before. This is definitely something I would read to my kids if I had any any and I personally gained so much in my own understanding of Scripture from its pages.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book out loud with my children, reading a chapter or two each night for several months now. We all love it. It's an engaging perspective on the prophecy and arrival of Christ. The kids love it and beg me to read more each night. Jenny L. Cote has a gift for writing children's stories that adults can love reading, too.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book, whetted my appetite to see where kingdoms, nations, kings and priests all fitted together in the Old Testament. It had me frequently turning to my Bible and history resources to research further.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A embellished and fictional tale, built around the Scriptural account of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, from the time of the Isaiah and Micah, thorough to Daniel... until the Saviour's birth in a manger in Bethlehem. A good read.

[Thea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was amazing!it was so great that it took me 2 days to finish.i just could'nt stop reading it!i highly recomend it for christains [ because it about christmas].

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great. A catholic book about animals!

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a little hard for me to focus in the beginning but as I neared the end it was really good and I couldn't put it down.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I love the animals prescriptive!

[Pema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think God spoke to Jenny how to write the book