Hiding Baby Moses

by Judith L. Roth, Melanie Cataldo (Illustrator)

Overview

A baby boy is hidden in a basket floating on the Nile. A fearful mother sings a song of protection. And a brave big sister seeks a chance to save her brother.

Meet the family of baby Moses in this lyrical retelling, and see how God's faithfulness can be revealed through one small person who takes a big risk for someone she loves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646980406
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	04/27/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	47 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Judith L. Roth is a poet and the author of several children's books. She has a Master of Arts in Theology and has been a musician, youth minister, curriculum writer, and editor. She lives in Indiana with her family.

Melanie Cataldo is the illustrator of Home by Another Way by Barbara Brown Taylor and other books for children. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Editorial Reviews

02/08/2021

Confiding text and tender drawings distinguish this version of the story of Moses in Exodus. Writing in the voice of Moses’s sister Miriam, Roth immediately places the reader in the action: “Last night, Mama plastered tar all over a baby-sized basket. Now she checks to see if the tar is dry, and she cries.” Cataldo’s drawings focus tightly on the family as they move from their home through the marketplace (the baby’s cries masked by Mama’s lullaby) to the grassy, emerald-colored banks of the Nile. When Pharaoh’s daughter and her entourage appear in profile, there’s a sense of destiny being set in motion. But the transcendent power of loving relationships remains at the heart of this retelling: the images that follow the baby’s discovery underscore how, thanks to Miriam’s quick thinking, Moses is not only saved but becomes the center of a new family unit, forged by three women who are dedicated to his survival and future. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Confiding text and tender drawings distinguish this version of the story of Moses in Exodus…The transcendent power of loving relationships remains at the heart of this retelling." —Publishers Weekly

Hiding Baby Mosesis a Junior Library Guild Selection.

"Unreservedly recommended for family, daycare center, preschool, Sunday School, elementary school, and community library picture book collections." —Midwest Book Review

"With imagery reminiscent of Psalm 91, Roth imagines what it must have been like for Miriam and her mother to leave their baby in the reeds of the Nile. The themes of hiding in a strong rock and beneath the shadow of God's wings echo Truth in this Story that is nicely told and expressively illustrated." —Redeemed Reader

From the Publisher

2021-03-02
A retelling of the story of Moses, cast adrift and saved by Pharaoh’s daughter.

A mournful mother prepares a watertight basket for her baby son, and she and his older sister kiss him goodbye. They carry him through a crowded marketplace to the river, singing as they walk along, “God will hide us in the shelter of a rock.” They then set him afloat. The sister, who narrates, imagines many dangers in and about the Nile: soldiers, currents, crocodiles. Then, dressed in ornate finery, Pharaoh’s daughter and her attendants appear. The sister would like to snatch the baby from the water, but it is Pharaoh’s daughter who holds him and comforts him. The sister shows herself and tells them that she can bring them a woman to nurse the baby; it is his mother. Miriam, the sister, tells the story in her own words, although she is never named in the text. The narration circles around verses of the author’s original song, “The Shelter of God’s Wings,” and reads like stanzas to its refrain of God’s power. The mundane illustrations feature brown-skinned people and a plethora of green reeds. In the author’s note, there is a brief summary of the history of the Hebrew people in Egypt from Joseph to Moses and the entry into the promised land. The festive holiday of Passover, which celebrates this event, is not mentioned, however.

Not a worthwhile or necessary addition to Passover stories; it may find a home on the shelves of some Christian families, however. (song notation, lyrics) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews