Bartholomew's Passage - Family Story for Advent

From Arnold Ytreeide, author of Jotham's Journey, comes Bartholomew's Passage, another family advent story. The story follows Bartholomew, a young boy whose village is ransacked by Roman soldiers, as he travels through Israel searching for his familythrough slavery, suffering, and adventurous escape. He finds his family one fateful night and introduces them to the Son of God born in the manger in Bethlehem. The book is divided into sections to be read one each day of the four weeks of the Advent season, with extra material and scripture for discussion at the end of each section. The story, meant to be read over the entire Advent season, is long with small two-color illustrations at the beginning of each section. It is not a picture book, but when used as a companion to Advent traditions, read aloud to the family by the light of the Advent candles, Bartholomew's Passage will be a meaningful reminder of God's great love and great gift to us in Jesus. A brief history of Advent customs and a chart of Advent dates until 2080 make this book easy to implement even for those unfamiliar with Advent traditions. Bartholomew's Passage includes violence and tragedy that may need to be summarized or skipped over for the youngest children, but it is the author's intent (as he states in his note to parents) that "the point is not to cover up the dark side of life but rather to show how the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ is the light of our lives." ~ Rachel D.