God King (Bethlehem Books)

When it comes to teaching kids about history, there are many methods you can use and many sources you can draw from. For example, you could spend a whole year on Egypt and still barely scratch the surface. Unfortunately, most works on Egypt only look at the "celebrities" or hot spots, like King Tut, Cleopatra, Nefertiti, the Great Pyramids, and the Sphinx. If you want to learn more about other periods or figures, you're going to have to do a little more research to find some books. One of those books is entitled God King, and I will be reviewing it today.

God King is written by Joanne Williamson and is the second book I have read from Bethlehem Books. The first one I read was Hittite Warrior by the same author. Like Hittite Warrior, God King is part of their Living History Library series. This book, however takes place in the year 701 B.C. during the twenty-fifth dynasty in Egypt, also known as the Kushite dynasty. For perspective on this time in history, Sennacherib was king of Assyria and Hezekiah was king of Judah during this time.

The story begins with peril and excitement. A young boy, Taharka, is on a crocodile hunt with his uncle Embutah and some slaves. Suddenly, a crocodile attacks and severely injures one of the slaves. Using his quick thinking and medical skills he has studied, Taharka is able to save the man. Normally, this kind of heroism would be applauded. However, Taharka is no ordinary boy. He is the son of the pharaoh, who is considered a god in Egypt. Touching a slave was a tabu and made young Taharka unclean. Even though he was one of many children of the pharaoh, and not even a particularly important child, he still knew he would be punished...little did he know what his punishment would be.

Taharka's "punishment" came swiftly. The pharaoh was dying, but before he died an ancient ritual must be performed to choose his successor. Everyone, Taharka included, thought it would be the older boy, Shabataka. Shabataka was groomed nearly his whole life to become the next pharaoh. In a cruel twist of fate, Taharka was "chosen," and his "punishment" was that he must become the new pharaoh. To him this felt like being forced to live in a cage, a prison sentence if you will. With his uncle Embutah and brother Shabataka as his guides, years pass and Taharka begins to get used to being pharaoh. He still doesn't like all the duties that come with it, nor does he feel completely safe with the ever-looming threat of Assyria to worry about.

I won't give too many more details away, but the action picks up midway through the book, when Assyria threatens to attack Judah and Taharka must decide whether or not Egypt is to assist them or not. This was a well-researched and well-written book. If you look on Wikipedia, you will see that the names are accurate to this time, and the same holds true for the Bible, as you can find reference to Taharka and Assyria in both 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37. In the past few months, I have grown to love the writing of Joanne Williamson. I wish I had discovered her as a child, but will make sure my children discover her. I also hope Bethlehem Books will continue to print some of her other works as well.

This book was provided to me for free by Bethlehem Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Hittite Warrior (Bethlehem Books)

History was never my strongest subject in school. I made As and Bs, but I was bored the ENTIRE time. Boring textbooks. Long lists of people and dates to memorize. To people who enjoy that sort of thing, I applaud you. It has never been me and will never be me. That's why homeschooling is an appealing option for my family. You can pull from more sources than just textbooks, like living books or historical fiction. One such company, Bethlehem Books, is doing a masterful job targeting the homeschooling crowd with their impressive catalog of reprinted "historical fiction, adventure tales, biographies, and family stories." Today, I will be reviewing one of their popular books entitled Hittite Warrior.

Hittite Warrior tells the story of a teenage Hittite boy named Uriah-Tarhund. He came from a people who ruled the "northern world" and the Egyptians ruled the "southern world." His father was a lord and kinsman of the chief province of Arzawa. One fateful day, in the 13th year of the reign of the king, his father and he embarked to Hattusas to pay tribute. Little did he know that trip would end so tragically. While on his journey, his mother and sister were killed. His entire province was decimated and many were killed. Three years later his father died, but not before making Uriah promise to travel to Canaan and live there. Travelling with a caravan, his decision to save the life of a young trader named Hannibaal took him to Tyre where he made a friend named Jotham, a Hebrew. This friendship set him on a path that would change his life forever.

The book is based during the time of the Judges, which was roughly 1200 B.C. If you have read through the Old Testament book of Judges with your children, they will recognize the two important names of Deborah and Barak. Deborah and Barak are the two judges who defeated the Canaanites in Judges 4. They will also recognize the song of Deborah from Judges 5. They will also learn a bit of geography. There is a tiny map in the front that serves as a basic guide for the region of the book, but they can further their knowledge by having an atlas or world map and track the journeys of Uriah. Your children will also be exposed to different societies, religious practices, and customs of these ancient people. For example, they will learn about an ancient Ammonite god named Moloch who required the sacrifice of a young child to appease him.

This is an A+ historical fiction novel for children 10 and up. I, a 30+ male, had a hard time putting this book down and read it in one weekend. While I would argue that this book is more geared towards a male audience, girls might enjoy it as well. What I really loved about this book is the era and region it was written about. So much historical fiction based in ancient times focuses on Egypt or Rome and that's it. Ms. Williamson chose a neglected but equally important region and delivered a masterpiece. I am very pleased with Bethlehem Books' Living History Library series and cannot wait to dive into another book. Be sure to check out other books from this author, particularly God King.

This book was provided to me for free by Bethlehem Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!