Review
Title: The Old Testament Family Reader
Editors: Tyler McKellar and Stephanie McKellar
Illustrator: Dan Burr
Publisher: Deseret Book Co.
Genre: Devotional
Year Published: 2021
Pages: 224
ISBN-10: 1462141706
ISBN-13: 978-1-62972-946-6
Price: $24.99
Reviewed by Mark Tensmeyer for the Association for Mormon Letters
The Old Testament Family Reader is a book of select passages from the Old Testament, the Book of Moses, and the Book of Abraham, accompanied by an illustration and discussion questions. The purpose is to prompt Gospel family discussions. Every Latter-day Saint parent I’ve known dearly wants to have such talks with their children but making them happen can be a struggle. As such a parent, I welcome any help in this regard. The back of the book states that its first purpose is to offer five-minute study opportunities for busy families with kids of all ages.
Here is an example of one of the entries in this book from page 110 titled “According to God’s command, the River Jordan is parted and the Israelites miraculously enter the Promised Land.” The title is followed by a short background summary to give context to the scriptural passage. In this case, the background states that the time had finally come for the Israelites to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land and God was preparing them to enter and take the heavily fortified land from its current inhabitants. The text is twelve verses, Joshua 3:5-17. This is followed by the following questions:
- “Why do you think it is significant that the water didn’t recede until after the priests first stepped into it?
- When have you had to move forward in faith?
- What blessings became evident after you showed your faith?”
Opposite this page is an illustration of the priests standing on the shore of a river carrying the ark of the covenant.
There are over eighty grayscale illustrations by artist Dan Burr depicting the events or an object or face for the accompanying passage. The art is a realistic style done in what I believe to be either charcoal or pastels.
I found the passages a bit too long for my eight-year-old’s taste. The questions are fairly simplistic. Most of the questions follow the familiar pattern of “what did we learn from these verses about _____ Gospel principle? How have you applied this principle in your life?” They are supposed to prompt discussions for children of all ages. My child did not find these questions very engaging, but I can see how others might.
The editors wrote in the introduction that they picked the passage based on what Gospel principles they thought were most important, an admittedly subjective process. The passages they included are good as any, but it would have been nice if they had corresponded with the weekly Come Follow Me lessons. There are a few Come Follow Me weekly lessons for which this book does not have an entry.
Overall, I do recommend this book to Latter-day Saint families with children. It is an attractive, convenient teaching tool that will provide a Gospel devotional in a crunch.