Joshua and the Wall

Joshua and the Wall
No author listed
No illustrator listed
Copyright 2019 by The Clever Factory, Inc
Format: Board Book
Status: So few details are listed about this book that it is difficult to track down, however I think these may be the same set of books with different illustrations.  They are also available on ebay 
Conclusion: keep




For a book that I purchased brand new, this book is in poor shape now.  It has nothing to do with its quality and is due entirely to the fact that my son loved it.  When he was about 1 or 2, this was his favorite Bible story so we read it over and over and over again.  That was an age where he still drooled a lot and tended to have his fingers in his mouth, so our copy of this book is full of pages that were stuck together repeatedly, then pulled apart to make little white ripped marks.  It's a book that was well loved, that's for sure, and it shows.   So how does the content of this book hold up to scrutiny?  Will he get to keep the favorite Bible story of his past?  (He has other favorite stories now...perhaps I'll review Daniel in the Lion's Den next and see how his new favorite Bible book compares to the real Bible).

The Good Points:
  • This Joshua book tells the story mostly accurately.  (For stories this short and condensed, it's hard to make many mistakes).
  • This book is meant for very young kids.  It is a very condensed version of the story and is told in only six sentences.  However, that makes it short enough for very young children to understand.
  • The illustrations are bright and colorful.  My son especially loved pointing to all of the different horns the men played.

The Discrepancies:
  • Rahab is never mentioned, nor are the spies.
  • This book states that God commanded Joshua's army to march around Jericho in silence for 6 days. The Bible says the people were not supposed to shout or speak, but that the people blew horns as they marched.
After reading through this book again, I am surprised that my son liked it so much.  I don't have any major problems with it's content, but the sentences have rather complicated structures for a book meant for toddlers.  However, it appealed to him, so obviously the anonymous author did something right.  Go ahead and keep this book in your library of toddler books.  I recommend it for ages 0-3.



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