Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent (Jotham's Journey Trilogy)

Rating:
Summary: Jotham's journey
Review: FANTASTIC. We have never had such a blessing out of Christmas. We lite the candles every night and prayed for each person that we received cards from. This book kept my 6 and 8 year old on the edge of their seats asking for more. We as adults could not wait either. Get this book and try it this year. This year we are going on to Bartholomew's passage.

Rating:
Summary: Jotham's journey
Review: FANTASTIC. We have never had such a blessing out of Christmas. We lite the candles every night and prayed for each person that we received cards from. This book kept my 6 and 8 year old on the edge of their seats asking for more. We as adults could not wait either. Get this book and try it this year. This year we are going on to Bartholomew's passage.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting for the WHOLE family
Review: Growing up, we always read together as a family.
I'm an adult now, so when my mom said she had bought
a book for us to read together over the Christmas holidays
I thought, "Oh brother, aren't we a little old for that?"
I must confess I had to eat my words. We sat down and took
turns reading and it was such a great story. Not only was
it well written, but the story was highly imaginative
and did a great job weaving fictional characters into the
traditional Christmas story. Its a must for families who
love doing things, and experiencing the meaning of Christmas
together.

Rating:
Summary: A Keeper for Advent
Review: I teach in a Christian school that makes a special effort to celebrate Advent before celebrating Christmas. In cooperating with that effort, I've used Jotham's Journey as a read-aloud book since finding it three years ago, twice with first graders (some editing was prudent) and last year with my seventh graders. Both age groups have absolutely loved this tale of the shepherd boy, Jotham, as he journeys to reunite with his parents. Jotham's adventure is action-packed; and while the author does take some literary license, there are plenty of historical facts that lend themselves to further discussion in the classroom. I'll never forget the first grader's eager response to the vocabulary question about a caravan: "It's a kind of van." I have had the best time using this book to entertain and educate the children during Advent. The season is characterized by a gradual build-up of excitement toward Christmas Day, and every chapter of Jotham's Journey (there are as many chapters as there are days in Advent)lends to the intensity. My first graders wanted me to start over as soon as I'd finished the story; my seventh graders were underwhelmed by every story I read thereafter. What else needs to be said?

Rating:
Summary: A Treat for All Ages
Review: Jotham's Jorney: A Storybook for Advent is a well written story about a young boy who, after throwing a temper tantrum, has become separated from his family and his adventures while trying to find them. The book is written in chapters corresponding with the four weeks of the Advent season. At the end of each chapter a commentary is provided bring scripture together with the activities in Jotham's life and our own personal journey. The story will captivate young and old alike. The commentaries leave each person with something to ponder to help bring them closer to a closer relationship with the Risen Christ. I highly recommend adding the reading of this book to family Advent traditions!

Rating:
Summary: Conservative Christian viewpoint
Review: Just to say that I love the idea of having a story to read with my family throughout advent, to go along with the lighting of our advent candles. Unfortunately, the previous reviews failed to mention it is published by "Servant Publications to serve evangelical Christians". If I had know, I would not have bought it. If you are what we might call a more liberal Christian, or have a more inclusive view of God's love - just don't bother with this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Keeper for Advent
Review: There is no doubt that this book will hold kids' interest -- but it uses violence to do so, and that is not appropriate for advent devotions. As fiction, it adds considerably to biblical truth. It is hard enough to teach kids that the bible is not just another nice story, and this fictionalized account makes that even harder. This book can do more harm than good. Find another choice.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting for the WHOLE family
Review: We bought this book last year for advent and read it with our 8-year old. It's a great story with TONS of biblical history "slipped" in. My son didn't even realize he was learning about the culture as he was so intent on finding out what happened to Jotham daily. One really great aspect of this book is how it creates an easy to understand timeline of events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. It combines details from all accounts of Jesus birth in the bible and shows you the "bigger" picture. Many good discussions about the choices Jotham makes along his journey took place. This year we're buying the other two titles for my niece and nephew!