A valuable instrument for parents who want to teach Christian principles to kids.
A fantastical debut children’s book evokes the New Testament.
While fishing, Aaron and Evelyn Freeman save a young boy from drowning and carry him home. He doesn't seem capable of speech and is terrified of light. Their parents, Clara and William, lovingly accept him and name him Chris, but shortly thereafter, goblins invade the house and demand to leave with Ilissa, their 11-month-old daughter. According to the goblin in charge, Maruffo, it is their right to bring her to their underworld lair. William defiantly refuses and is killed by the goblins, who then take Ilissa and burn the house down. Clara flees with the remaining three children to Aunt Sarah and Cousin Freddy’s house and reveals a series of shocking truths: she’s not really Aaron and Evelyn’s mother, nor was William their father. She found them when they escaped the underground cave governed by goblins—just as Chris once did—and the couple decided to raise them as their own. Wilfred deftly describes the tug of war between humans and goblins in narrative terms clearly modeled on biblical history, providing vivid details. The goblins are former angels who rebelled against their beneficent creator, Abba, and are now obsessed with destroying mankind. Abba, in order to save humans from bondage, came down to Earth in the form of a slave and sacrificed himself so he could produce a hole in the cave through which humans could escape, an event referred to as the Emancipation. The Brotherhood, a group comprised of former slaves, is the caretaker of written histories much like the Bible. Wilfred meticulously re-creates principal New Testament stories in a way likely to be digestible by young children. He also helpfully includes discussion questions at the conclusion of the book as pedagogical tools for parents (for example, “What would be the best part of adding a new member to your family?”). But some of the plot—there’s a decadelong war between humans and goblins—doesn’t seem all that didactically useful if the overarching point is a first encounter with central Christian ideas.
A valuable instrument for parents who want to teach Christian principles to kids.Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-9625-4
Page Count: 140
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
