Book Review: The Real Story of the Exodus by Paul L. Maier

Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
Publication Date: July 2009
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758612680
ISBN-13: 978-0758612687
List Price: $16.99
Rating: 4 Stars!
Purchase Options: Direct from Publisher, Amazon

Review:
The Real Story of the Exodus is the third and final book in Dr. Paul L. Maier’s Old Testament trilogy for children.  Previous works in this trilogy are The Real Story of the Creation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007) and The Real Story of the Flood (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008).  This new book follows the layout found in earlier books from this series, which is a prologue, twelve two-page chapters, and an epilogue.  The prologue briefly recounts the story of the Hebrew people from Adam through Jacob, explaining how they came to be enslaved in Egypt.  Each of the two-page chapters has a relevant picture on one page and a scripture passage along with a portion of the Exodus story on the opposite page.  The first ten chapters recount the events that take place throughout the book of Exodus.  Chapter eleven touches on Numbers 13, where the spies are sent in to Canaan.  Chapter twelve brings the story to a close referencing Deuteronomy 34:10 and the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua as well as the events surrounding the death of Moses. Finally the epilogue offers some additional insight, explaining that the Exodus story is the central event in the history of God’s people in the Old Testament, relating the salvation message inherent in the Exodus story and its parallels to Jesus’ death on Mount Calvary.

I would highly recommend this book for parents wanting to introduce their children to the Biblical story of the exodus. Parents and children alike will be engaged by Dr. Maier’s writing and captivated by Gerad Taylor’s beautiful illustrations.  While the reading level for this book is ages four to eight, it should be an enjoyable read for children as old as eleven or twelve.  I very much wanted to give this book a five start rating, but am only going to give it four stars due to an error on the map found in the epilogue and on the back cover of the book.  The error is that the Dead Sea is inadvertently labeled as the Red Sea.  I was very surprised that this mistake wasn’t caught during the editing process and I hope it will be corrected in future printings of this book.

Author / Illustrator information:
Paul L. Maier is a professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University and a much-published author of both scholarly and popular works.  His areas of research include manuscript and text analysis, archaeology, and the comparison of secular and sacred sources from the first century A.D.  Dr. Maier also serves as the second vice-president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

Gerad Taylor, born in Auckland, New Zealand, has worked for over twenty years as a freelance illustrator for the design, publishing, and advertising industries.  His clients include Coca-Cola, Heinle Publishing, Hinkler Publishing, Lion Nathan, and many others throughout the world.  Gerad lives with his wife, Anne, and children Madeline, Charlotte, and Max in Greytown, New Zealand.

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by the kind folks at Concordia Publishing House for review.

Related resources:

• The Very First Christmas (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998)
• The Very First Easter (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999)
• The Very First Christians (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2001)
• Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004)
• The Real Story of the Creation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2007)
• The Real Story of the Flood (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008)