Showing posts with label Jewish. Show all posts

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Get to Know Mary by Nancy I. Sanders

MaryGet to Know Series

By Nancy I. Sanders
Published by Zondervan

From booksneeze.com:

Chosen by God, Mary was more than the mother of Jesus. She was a hero of the Bible. She said “Yes!” to God. Learn about Mary and her exciting place in history. Discover what it was like to grow up in Israel and be a part of Jesus’ life on earth. Mary - part of the Get to Know series - will teach you everything you need to know about this young woman whom God used to do great things!

Leona's Review:

This book is about Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The book is dedicated to: Gertrude Toppin- at 94 the sweetness of Christ from your ever-present smile just as brightly as ever!

There is a Table of Contents which has 12 chapters, Timeline of Mary, Glossary, Selected Bibliography, Source Notes, Student Resources, About the Author.

The chapters are: A Daughter in the House of Jacob, Engaged to Be Married, Birth of the Firstborn Son, The Newborn King, The Town of Nazareth, Mary and Joseph's Home, Sharing Faith with Her Family, Holidays are Holy Days, Life and Death, Dealing with the Messiah, At the Cross and A New Beginning.

Get to Know Mary in the first chapter has Mary as a young girl. It gives the reader information of what life was like during this time.

Some facts about the Jewish people at this time are some poor people lived in caves; there were different coins, Jewish, Romans and Greek; a large stone jar weighed about 1000 pounds; there are seven main Jewish Holidays or Feasts, the marketplace could be on any day except the Sabbath and in Jewish tradition, a new day started at sunset and lasted until sunset the next day.

Get to Know This Book has features that are circles and inside the circle a symbol such as an oil lamp or scroll. They are: Scripture, look for an oil lamp to read a Scripture from the Bible ; Bible Hero, look for a sandal for information about a Bible hero; Eyewitness Account, look for picture of an eye each time someone who saw what happened tells about it; Did You Know?, look for a clay jar to learn fun facts; and Word Bank, look for a scroll to learn the meanings of new words. It is a great teaching method for the children and also adults.

I learned quite a bit of the Jewish people. It is a good book for young people. I suggest reading a chapter at a time.

There are maps and pictures which are always appreciated by this reader.

I am giving Get to Know Mary a 5 star rating. I received a complimentary copy from booksneeze.com to read and review. The opinions are my own.

Nancy Sanders may be reached at reached at www.nancyisanders.com.

Leona Olson

www.mnleona.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Voyage of Strangers by Elizabeth Zelvin

VOYAGE OF STRANGERS

by Elizabeth Zelvin

From www.goodreads.com

What really happened when Columbus discovered America. Diego Mendoza, a young Marrano sailor with Columbus, returns from the voyage of discovery to find that his sister Rachel is in danger from the Inquisition as a secret Jew. After failing to find safety in Spain, they sail with Admiral Columbus on the second voyage to Hispaniola, where they must struggle with divided loyalties as the Spaniards' greed for gold and conquest clashes with the local Taino people's way of life. Both Diego and Rachel find courage, love, and heartache as they come of age in a doomed paradise. Sequel to Zelvin's Agatha-nominated mystery, "The Green Cross."

Leona's Review:

Voyage of Strangers by Elizabeth Zelvin

This book is based on the sailings of Christopher Columbus and the sailings to the Americas. The book is in first person by Diego so we see one viewpoint of what happened.

The main characters are a brother and sister, Diego and Rachel Mendoza. They are Jewish and from Spain during the time of the Inquisition. Diego especially seems to have a hatred for Christians because most are cruel in their actions. Because they are Jewish, they keep it a secret from all except Columbus. Diego sailed with Columbus on his first voyage to the Americas and convinced Columbus to take his sister as a cabin boy on the second voyage to the Americas so she could leave Spain.

Lots of history but I found a dark novel based on fact and fiction. I was not aware in all my readings of the slavery from the Islands in the Caribbean. The book had a lot of light moments and love is also part of the book. I learned a lot the area, food, hardships and cruelty to the local people. As readers we see, with the eyes of Diego, customs and ways of life of the Taino Indians. I also learned more about the Jewish people and some of their customs.

The author has done her research. She has included a dateline of events which begins with the prologue December 24, 1492 and ends February 24,1495 with chapter 36. The list of characters include 28 people known to history and 38 fictional characters including Rosa, the mule, and Baxtalo, the dog. I like maps and would have liked to have seen one included in the book. I have been to most of the places so I could picture them and the route. Little tidbits of information were useful to read like using a lemon to clean teeth and help prevent teeth rot.

There is an Afterword which is about the book and the facts and fiction of the novel.

She has a list of acknowledgements of people who have helped her in this writing.

The Green Cross was the first book Elizabeth Zelvin wrote about Columbus so I will also have to read that one. This book can be read without reading the Green Cross first.

I downloaded this book from amazon.com.

I give it a 4 star rating because of the history and research by the author.

Elizabeth Zelvin may be reached at www.elizabethzelvin.com.

Leona Olson

www.mnleona.blogspot.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Queen's Handmaid by Tracy Higley

From goodreads.com:

"From the servant halls of Cleopatra’s Egyptian palace to the courts of Herod the Great, Lydia will serve two queens to see prophecy fulfilled.

Alexandria, Egypt 39 BC

Orphaned at birth, Lydia was raised as a servant in Cleopatra's palace, working hard to please while keeping everyone at arm's length. She's been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times in her short life.

But then her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the nearest thing she’s had to family and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed king, Herod the Great, as handmaid to Queen Mariamme.

Trapped among the scheming women of Herod’s political family—his sister, his wife, and their mothers—and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must deliver the scrolls before dark forces warring against the truth destroy all hope of the coming Messiah."

Paperback, 400 pages

Published March 18th 2014 by Thomas Nelson

ISBN

1401686842 (ISBN13: 9781401686840)

edition language

English

Leona's Review:

I thought I had read Tracy Higley's books in the past, but find this is my first read by her. I always like to read historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. It is full of history and gave me some more knowledge of the times and people. I did not know that Cleopatra, for example, had sisters. There is a map of the Mediterranean area in the front of the book and the family charts of The Hasmonean Dynasty and also Herod's Family.

The book is dedicated to: For Steve Laube. In gratitude for nearly a decade of unwavering support, wise guidance, and genius friendship.

The book begins in Alexandria, Egypt on January, 39 BC.

Lydia is the handmaid to Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. She is to become the handmaid of Herod's future wife Mariamme and so travels to Jerusalem.

The journey is long but on the trip Lydia becomes acquainted with David, who is younger than her.

Lydia's mentor, Samuel, was killed but before he dies he had passed the scrolls from the prophet Daniel to Lydia with instructions where to deliver and to whom. The scrolls are usually passed from father to son but these were now for Lydia to deliver. Lydia must carry the scrolls with her and keep them a secret and so they are hidden most of the time

There is a lot of warfare in this novel with some descriptions of death but fits the story and the history of the wars at that time.

The Queen's Handmaid is full of history and of the Jewish religion and beginning of the Christian religion.

I give this a 5 star rating. It is a historical fiction book with some romance. The author, Tracy Higley, shows she has done extensive research to write this novel. The end was unexpected for me but I was pleased with it. This is a book that can be re-read for those interested in history.

I wish there had been a list of the characters and the places in the book. There were many and I think it would have helped the reader.