The Out of Jerusalem series by H.B. Moore (Covenant Communications, 2003-2006) retells the story of Lehi, Nephi, and their families as they leave Jerusalem and head for the promised land, giving the characters in the early parts of The Book of Mormon distinct personalities. Although there were many aspects I enjoyed as a part of

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I love time travel stories. With a delightful storyline, the middle grade novel 11,000 Years Lost by Peni R. Griffin (Harry Abrams, 2004) tells about an eleven-year-old young girl who travels 11,000 years into the past, weaving true facts about the Clovis civilization (a prehistoric group who lived in the southwestern United States) and archaeological

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Maroo of the Winter Caves by Ann Turnbull (originally published 1984) is a middle grade novel set during the Ice Age. It may help shed light on how people may have lived and survived in communities during a hunter/gatherer era of history. With young Maroo as the main character, children will see themselves in her

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I read the trilogy The Kingdom and the Crown by Gerald Lund because I finished all the currently produced episodes of The Chosen! I was craving more immersion in the historical world of Roman-occupied Israel. We are studying the New Testament at church this year, and I’m the Sunday School teacher, so I promise I

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The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination by Barry Strauss (Simon & Schuster, March 2015) examines the traditions of the assassination of Julius Caesar, clearing up the myths (such as Shakespeare’s play) from reality. Analyzing such a historic event from 44 B.C. is not easy since eyewitness accounts are few and far

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Winner of the Newbery Medal in 1962, The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (originally published in 1961) is an amazing story about a boy in Galilee during the time of Jesus. Daniel bar Jamin is an angry teenager, looking for revenge on the Roman soldiers who occupy his land. As a politically charged novel, then,

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Me Want Pet! by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Bob Shea (Simon and Schuster, 2012) is the story of a cave boy who wants a pet. He tries a wooly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a dodo bird, and none of them seems right. How will he get a pet?! The humor is obvious, given the

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In Kali’s Song by Jeanette Winter (Schwartz and Wade Books, 2012), a young boy who lives thousands of years ago in a cave with his mother finds joy in his life. His journey is serious. He watches his mother paint images of the animals on the wall of the cave, and then he must go out

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