Stats

Genre: Midgrade (8-12 years) adventure, Christmas

Series length: Four books + a follow-up story set during Easter.

Violence: Some violence and scary sequences involving theft, robbery, enslavement, threat of death, kidnapping, etc.

Magic/Supernatural: Only that which is found in the original Christmas story

Romance: None 

Christian/spiritual element: Overt and explicit, including nonfiction devotionals and discussion questions

Recommendation: ​Families looking for a read-aloud during the Advent season

Summary

A shepherd boy looking for a family who thinks he's dead. A son of a fisherman whose town is attacked by soldiers. A shepherd girl trying to rescue her father. A spoiled Persian prince dragged into a following a star. Each ten-year-old finds himself or herself facing dangerous situations, dragged into unpredictable adventures, encountering villains, making unexpected friends, as they are each drawn, in their own way, to a stable in Bethlehem.

Each story is broken into daily readings with a short devotional thought for daily readings and discussion during the Advent season. Though the stories of the four kids intertwine and intersect, each book stands on its own as as unique story, and the series can be read in any order. 

To Purchase

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Opening Lines: 

Jotham pulled the scratchy grey blanket more tightly around his shoulders, but the wind still slithered down his neck. It was colder now that the sun had dropped below the bare hilltops behind him. Far off to his right was the salty sea where nothing lived. And just over that ridge in front of him--the one that formed the other side of the valley he was in--his family camped. They would be asleep now, warm and safe inside the finest goatskin tents ever made. I would be, too, Jotham thought. ​If only Father weren't so stubborn!

Jotham's Journey
by Arnold Ytreeide

Over and over Jotham screamed for his family, but there was no one to hear him. They had vanished. He was alone. Where had they gone? How long ago did they leave? Through quick, stabbing sobs Jotham told himself, "I must look for my family. I must search until I find them." And so his journey began.

Jotham's Journey is divided into short chapters for each day of Advent, giving families the opportunity to create a seasonal tradition of storytelling in their home. Ten-year-old Jotham's adventure takes him across Israel as he searches for his family. Though he faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers, Jotham also encounters friendly wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to his family--and to the Savior born in Bethlehem.
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Review of Jotham's Journey

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Opening Lines:

"No!" The voice of the butcher was low and gruff as he chopped another rib with a swing of his cleaver. Bartholomew ducked the splatters of blood that flew every which way, then looked up at the angry face above him.

"Aw, please, Joab!" he pleaded. "It's just perfect!"

Bartholomew's Passage 
by Arnold Ytreeide

But then Bartholomew noticed that the thunder wasn't coming from the lake; it was coming from the hills behind the village...Suddenly several of the fishermen grabbed their oars and knives and hooks and anything else they could find and started running toward town. The others seemed to realize what was happening and did the same, leaving Bartholomew all alone on the beach.

What will happen to Bartholomew when Roman soldiers ransack his village? Watch young Bartholomew as he travels across Israel in search of his family. Follow him through slavery and join him on his adventurous escape. Then help him celebrate a glorious reunion in Bethlehem--just in time for our Savior's birth.

Offering readings for each day of the Advent season, Bartholomew's Passage is a family story and devotional that gives you the opportunity to create a seasonal tradition of storytelling in your home as it helps you and your family prepare for the miracle of Christmas.

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Opening Lines:

"Elisha, come on!" Tabitha pleaded. "We have to move!" She tugged at the reins with all her might, but the donkey just sat in the middle of the road looking at Tabitha with innocent eyes while the rest of the caravan lumbered by. "Don't look at me like you don't know what I'm saying," Tabitha scolded, the leather reins cutting deep grooves in the palms of her hands. "You know exactly what you're doing!" Tabitha gave one last might yank on the reins just as the donkey decided to obey. The donkey stood, the reins went slack, and with all her weight pulling against something that was suddenly no longer there, Tabitha fell backward, sitting down hard in the dust of the trail. A loud laugh slapped at her ears from behind.

Tabitha's Travels
by Arnold Ytreeide

Her chores had become so routine that she didn't even realize she was doing them, and the warmth of the afternoon sun was starting to make her eyelids heavy and her brain begin dreaming of sleep...it was just then, that Tabitha heard the first of the screams.

Curious, competent, and courageous Tabitha is the daughter of a shepherd who is taking his family to his birthplace. She befriends both Jotham and Bartholomew along the way, watches as Romans take her father prisoner, spends time with Zechariah and Elizabeth, helps Mary and Joseph just before Christ's birth, and ends her travels at the stable in Bethlehem. 

Continuing the tradition of the popular Jotham's Journey and Bartholomew's Passage, this captivating story will take you and your family through Advent to Christmas with day-by-day reaidngs and advice for making Christmas a meaningful season of worship.

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Opening Lines:

Ishtar sat on his golden throne dressed in royal robes with a crown of jewels on his head. He looked across the throne room, filled from wall to wall with his subjects shouting his name in admiration. "Ishtar! Ishtar!" They sang his praises not out of force or duty, but because they loved him. King Ishtar, King of Kings, ruler of all Persia, only ten years old but already the protector, provider, and savior of all his people. Never had there been a king so...

"Ishtar!"

Ishtar's Odyssey
by Arnold Ytreeide

"Ishtar, it seems you have discovered a star that even yesterday did not exist!" 

Ishtar, the ten-year-old son of a Persian wise man, will soon join a caravan following that star across the desert. The slightly spoiled prince would just as soon stay in the predictable comfort and safety of the palace, but slowly he learns that there's much to see, do, and learn in this world that can't be experienced with tutors. Disasters and dangers challenge his courage and confidence but Ishtar finds strength he never knew he had. He eventually meets Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha as he follows his father and uncles in their search for a newborn king. 

Ishtar's Odyssey is divided into short chapters meant to be read aloud for each day of Advent. Families will treasure this devotional read and benefit fromt he advice about creating seasonal traditions, suggestions for sampling Persian foods, and notes on the history behind the story.