Daniel in the Lions' Den

 Daniel in the Lions' Den
My First Bible Board Book
Text by Kathleen N. Daly
Illustrations by Jim Cummins
Copyright: 1984
Format: Board book
Status: Not currently in print. Good luck finding a copy if you want one, Ebay had only one for sale that I could find.
Conclusion: Get rid of it

This was one of the very first Bible stories I ever purchased for my daughter (my son hadn't been born yet). It's been in our collection so long that I don't even know where it came from.  Never mind, I just found a price on it written in a handwriting I recognize.  It came from the little used book store I used to frequent when I was a teenager. Over the years I have had so many dozens of books with prices written in that same handwriting that I would recognize it anywhere.  Sadly, that bookstore closed down the same year I moved back to the area, so I only had a couple of opportunities to visit it as a parent and look through their section of kids books. As a teenager I had no interest in venturing into that colorful, chaotic room with books scattered across the floor; I was much more likely to be lurking among the neatly organized science fiction shelves or browsing the boxes of 50 cent bargain books.  I even bought myself a Bible from that store. (It was the first Bible I ever bought!) Oh, I miss that store. But I am digressing. Back on topic now, so how does this version of Daniel compare to the real deal?

The Good Points:

  • The book has good sturdy construction.
  • The illustrations of Darius look very similar to historical portraits of him.
  • This book doesn't state outright that Darius ordered Daniel's enemies to be thrown into the lion's den, but the last illustration shows that happening.  That's good if you don't want to get into that discussion with very young children, but can explain what is happening if you choose.

The Discrepancies:

  • The illustrations portray Daniel as being young, but Biblical Scholars believe he was in his 80s when he was thrown into the lions' den.
  • This book doesn't mention that Daniel had been taken from Jerusalem, nor how he had come to have such a high ranking in Darius's court. It simply starts off by saying that Daniel was wise and good and that Darius wanted him to rule over his princes.
  • In this storybook, the law Darius signed did not have a time limit. In the Bible, the law stated that people could not pray to anyone else for 30 days.
  • This story says that when the men found Daniel praying, they immediately seized him and took him to the king.  In the Bible, the men watched Daniel pray, but instead they left him there and went to the king themselves to report his behavior. Later that evening King Darius commanded that Daniel be arrested.
  • In the Bible, Daniel says that God sent an angel to close the lions' mouths.  This story never mentions an angel. It says that Daniel spoke softly to the lions and they lay down beside him, and that God took care of him.  In fact, in this storybook Daniel never gives praise any credit to God. Only King Darius praises him.
  • This storybook says that King Darius found Daniel in the morning and he was already standing outside the lions' den.  In the Bible, Darius first speaks to Daniel while he is still in the den, then commanded that Daniel be lifted out.
  • In this storybook, Darius tells Daniel that God has saved him. The Bible doesn't record that comment happening.  The Bible does say that Darius sent a message in every language to every nation that people should worship the God of Daniel, but the children's storybook doesn't mention that either.
I'm a bit torn about this book.  It has a lot of mistakes, especially for such a simple book. Usually these easy board books are so shortened and simplified that it's hard to make mistakes, but this one has still managed to get a lot wrong.   I finally concluded that we should remove it from our collection mostly because I felt like the ending was taking away some of God's glory. It almost feels like God doesn't get enough credit for this miracle.  We also still have the two other, higher quality, Daniel books I reviewed previously, so I don't feel so bad about removing this one from the library. 



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