The World Jesus Knew: A Curious Kid's Guide to Life in the First Century

Curious Kids' Guides #1

by Marc Olson, Jemima Maybank (Illustrator)

Learn about the world as Jesus experienced it - from what they ate to what they knew.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Faith, Religion, Christian

57 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2017

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I already knew a lot about the culture of first century Palestine, there was at least one new thing for me on each page. This book assumes that the reader believes in Jesus, but other than that doesn't assume any specific religious beliefs. It focuses on giving context to life at the time in order to better understand the Bible. Great pictures, simple explanations, and fascinating details.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

My parents-in-law gave this book to my kids, and I've been wanting to read it ever since. I snuck it to my room this summer and read it over the course of about a month, 1-3 spreads at a time. I thought this was a fantastic way to learn about Jesus' world, and while the illustrations were drawings and paintings instead of photographs, the format reminded me of the DK books that are so popular. I learned a lot about ancient Palestine and I think this is great just for reading OR could be a supplemental resource for Sunday school.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Curious Kid's Guide, but I'm rating it as an adult. It was informative with a good layout. My kids are still pretty young, but I want to buy the whole series for them when they're older. This would be great for Sunday school teachers -- of young and old.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource on the corner of the Roman Empire where and when Jesus lived, for upper elementary children.

I think Olson really hit his stride with this book, or at least, the enthusiasm comes across more clearly. Jesus' sayings are referential, which provides a lot of material for a book like this. There's a spread called "Jesus: His Words, His World," that sum up words from the previous spreads and connect them to his own sayings. I also liked the twin spreads on magic and miracles: "Unlike magic, which earned the magician money or fame, miracles in the Bible helped others, often by healing, feeding, or raising somebody from death." (55) Magic isn't discussed as much in the four gospels as it is elsewhere in the New Testament, but it's helpful to understand how Jesus' signs might have been interpreted by those around him. (For those who come from traditions that use "signs" instead of "miracles," that is explained on the "Miracles" page.)

The spread on "The Life of a Woman" pleased me exceedingly, which is no mean feat. It neither over- nor underestimates the role of women in ancient Roman/Jewish society. I couldn't put it better myself: "Roman and Jewish girls and women were expected to be modest, work hard, and follow the rules of their families and cultures." (39) That's the best single-sentence summation of women's lives in the ancient world I've come across. Olson also discusses ritual impurity, which is really important when reading the story of the bleeding woman (Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8), because Jesus does not consider himself unclean after being touched by her, nor does he tell her to observe ritual purity laws like he does with the man whose leprosy he cleansed in Mark 1. (In Luke 8, Luke is very clear that Jesus did not observe purity laws, because he immediately goes into the house of Jairus, a synagogue leader, to heal Jairus's daughter who had been alive about as long as the sickness of the bleeding woman endured.) That's just a rabbit trail, all to say: well done!

I'd recommend The World Jesus Knew to curious readers, anyone who teaches children in the church, and families who want to build a biblical reference library. It gives the New Testament a deserved sense of realism. While I love a good flannelgraph myself, I find children's education in Christianity often lacking in realism. Books like this go a long way to helping children read the Scriptures well, with grounded imagination and faith in the text.

The World Jesus Knew has a lot more text than The World of the Old Testament, which allows for more nuance and information. Yay! Yet, the text is often really fine and could be hard for some to read. In most places, larger text size could easily be accommodated, but the book design favors negative space. While this makes the book less overwhelming to read and easier to focus on, it's bothersome that some readers will have to resort to a magnifying glass. (It wouldn't be such a big deal if it were just the occasional caption, but some large blocks of text are also in very fine sans serif print.)

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The presentation is beautiful...lovely images, catchy humor and interesting asides. I liked that the author talked about things that are often left out of books such as how menstruating women were to be avoided because they were considered impure. I enjoyed the book alot but I would have trouble recommending it to most children or adults because it makes the assumption numerous times, that everyone reading this book believes in Jesus and either I don't always know the religious beliefs of every child or I do know and they aren't Christian. I personally would have preferred a book without those references. I imagine there are people that will like it just for those inclusions.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This goes through the mundane, day-to-day stuff of life during 1st century Palestine and has clear, graphic illustrations to go along. There were topics like magic at the end that seemed a little strange, but I understand why they were included, just seemed like there should be more of where they show up in the Bible.

The thing I didn't like about this book is the formatting. While the book was larger than average for a picture book, some of the fonts were absolutely tiny! I read this with my 8 year old and we did fine, but seriously I've never seen tinier typeface that wasn't meant to be footnotes or disclaimers.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An attractive and up to date book, filled with infographics about the time of Jesus. I am glad to have this resource since many of the books we have on this topic are crumbling. It is nice to have the insight into the time period that half the Bible is written in, so we have the context to better understand the meaning.

[Krista Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book for helping kids learn about the time and place that Jesus lived. The text and illustrations are a perfect pairing to keep kids engaged. We read a couple pages every day as part of our morning devotions together, and now we'll start The World of the Old Testament by the same author/illustrator team.

[Peggy Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starred review in Booklist. Excellent and numerous illustrations. Covers virtually every aspect of life in the Holy Land during Jesus's lifetime including agriculture, religion, Roman government, role of women, medicine, food, etc. This slightly oversized book is aimed at grades 4 through 8.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a guide to life and culture during the time of Jesus. I only wish it were more detailed! I wish I had been able to read something like this when I was a kid (or maybe I wouldn't have been interested).

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it really interesting and although I knew a lot of the things, it still managed to surprise me. My kids liked it and it gave them even more information about Jesus than what they already know.

[Bill Stutzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look at areas of everyday life that helps us understand the context of the Roman Empire and Judea into which Jesus was born. Some periodization challenges might be present, but it's solid on the whole.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

not just good for kids!

[Susan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title has this as a kid's book, but it's great for adults too. I learned a lot, and, because it's a kid's book, it was a quick read.

[Maddie Barrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a great read for people wanting to teach others more about what life was like during the time or Jesus and gain a better understanding of what it meant to live during that time.

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great idea for a book, but too textbooky in places.

[Guy Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to help me write my latest book, The Only Witness: A History of the Shroud of Turin. It helped me to learn about life during Christ's times. Perfect.

[E & E’s Mama]

I read parts of this and want to read it with Elliot in a few years as a reference to Biblical culture. Great for adults too! The visuals are very helpful

[Carson Knauff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and interesting book. I find the Bible Infographic series a lot more interesting and eye catching but love that this resource exists.

[Kathleen Vincenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely illustrated and clearly written summary of Jesus' time.

[Saljo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. I learnt cool things along with my children.

[Tom]

Quality. I love how this presents information in an attractive, almost infographic format. It is clear and informative without dumbing anything down or trying to offer commentary or interpretation. In this way, it is empowering for kids (and adults!). Highly recommended.