Baby Moses (Step Into Reading)

 Baby Moses
Step Into Reading
Written by Linda Hayward
Illustrated by Barb Henry
Copyright 1989
Format: Paperback
Status: Available on Amazon and ebay.
Conclusion: Get Rid of It

Moses is such a prominent figure in the Old Testament, that it is easy to find stories about him.  We have ten different Moses books in our  Bible story collection.  Some are short and cover only a small portion of his life, and some are longer and more detailed.  Either way, he's a great person for children to know about.

This particular Baby Moses story is meant for children who are first learning to read. It claims that it is a Preschool-Grade 1 book, but as a former Kindergarten teacher, I can tell you that it is closer to a first grade level book.   However, this book has been in our library since long before any of my children ever learned to read and was a favorite read-aloud for both of them.

The Good Points:

• Simple words, clear sentences. This is great for many ages as their reading skills change.
• It has repetitive phrases and words, making it easy for children to read on their own, but also making it predictable for the youngest children. 
• The illustrations are beautiful.
• It has been a favorite book for both of my children.

The Discrepancies

• When Moses's mother placed him in the river, the book states "Pharaoh would not find him there!" The Bible doesn't specifically state this, but Biblical scholars suggest that his mother knew that the Egyptian women washed at that spot and that she intentionally placed him there hoping that one of them would find him.
• In this book, the Pharaoh finds out his daughter rescued the baby and demands that he be killed. The daughter argues with her father and he lets the baby live because he loved his daughter.  This entire scene never happens in the Bible.
• This book implies that Pharaoh's daughter raised Moses in the palace from the day she pulled him from the river. The Bible states that Pharaoh's daughter hired Moses's mother as a wet-nurse, and that his mother got to take him back home until he was older. Then she returned him to the palace where Pharaoh's daughter adopted him.

I am embarrassed to admit that I did not notice all of this book's discrepancies until I wrote this review. I know the story of Moses quite well, and I'm sure I've read this book at least a hundred times or more, yet I still completely missed how different the ending was from the Bible. I'm going to have a very sad little boy over this, but I will be pulling this book from our Bible story library because I feel like its discrepancies are just too big to overlook.  

The truth is that now I feel rather guilty over the fact that I read this book so many times to my children.  I'm sure that book is what they both think of when imagining the story of Baby Moses.  But I bring this up in case anybody reading this blog finds themselves in the same situation.  One day you may also discover that a favorite Bible storybook which you've read hundreds of times is not accurate. It's easy to spiral down the path of self-blame and worry that you've ruined your children's future. But don't worry, it's not as bad as all that.  Children, just like adults, can unlearn things. They are capable of correcting misconceptions too.

Here is how I plan to address this book with my children. First, I will read it one last time to both of them and point out the areas of the book that are not correct.  Then, I will explain that since it does not tell the truth, that we will not be reading it anymore.  Luckily, I have another Baby Moses book that is more accurate, so my next step will be to read this new book to them and talk about the differences.  Over the next few weeks or months, I will read the new Baby Moses book a bit more often than I typically would, so that it becomes more firmly cemented in their minds.  Hopefully it will become their new image of the Baby Moses story.