Moses in the Wilderness (People of the Bible)

Moses in the Wilderness
People of the Bible
Retold by Catherine Storr
Pictures by Jim Russell
Copyright: 1992
Format: Hardcover
Status: Not currently in print, but many preowned copies are available on ebay 


I'm really excited to review this story today.  I am not very familiar with this particular book because I found it after my daughter had stopped wanting me to read Bible stories to her (when she wanted the real Bible instead), and it is still more complicated than my son will sit still for as a bed time story.  However, I recently reviewed Moses of the Bulrushes, also by Catherine Storr, and was very impressed. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she kept the same strict standards for this book as she did for the other one.

For this set of books, Catherine Storr split Moses's story into four separate books. The first one describes Moses's childhood, his time as a shepherd in Midian, and the Burning Bush.  The second book, which I do not have, is called Moses and Plagues, and describes the plagues of Egypt.  The book I am reviewing today begins as the Israelites are leaving Egypt, and ends with the creation of the Tabernacle.

The Good Points:

  • This book stays very true to the Bible.  Most of the discrepancies I found were simply things that were not mentioned, probably to keep the story short.
  • I love the details included in this book. There are many stories here that you rarely find in a children's bible story.

The Discrepancies

  • Moses in the Wilderness skips the story about the bitter water at Marah.
  • While this book does mention the manna and quails, it doesn't say what manna is, nor any of God's rules for gathering it. It also fails to mention that God provided this every day for years.
  • This book skips Jethro's visit to Moses nor does it describe Moses having to sit as judge for everyone.
  • This story condenses Moses's trips up to Mount Sinai into just two trips instead of three like in the Bible.
  • This book changes the order of the ten commandments, but they are all there, in some form.  "Do not commit adultery" is rephrased as "...nor try to steal [your neighbor's] wife."  "Do not take the Lord's name in vain" is simply "do not swear."
  • The book includes the story of the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, but it never mentions that Moses destroys the calf.
As a read-aloud book it feels a bit choppy; it doesn't transition well from story to story.  Plus it just ends with a description of the tabernacle and feel very incomplete.  However, I did discover that there is another Moses book after this one called Moses the Leader, so perhaps that is why the author chose to end the book where she did.

Overall, the book is well done, though I don't like it nearly as much as Moses of the Bulrushes.  It is, however, perfectly fine to keep in  your library. I recommend it for ages 4-9.



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