ESTHER
God’s invisible hand
By Helen Clark. Day One. 127 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978-1846252044
I loved the look of this book as soon as I shook it out of its EN stamped jiffy bag! The pretty cover might have had something to do with that, along with the slightly larger than usual print, funky page design and smattering of cartoon illustrations. More than that I was very excited to read a book on Esther written with young people clearly in mind.
This is not a storybook narrative. Helen Clark expects her readers to read the Bible passage for themselves. Her book is a kind of applied commentary with plenty of relevant background information, helpful modern day comparisons, sections for personal soul searching and further Bible study.
She relates well throughout (often sharing her own experiences) and, although this book is certainly not lightweight in content, she writes with a light touch!
Much as I liked the cover, it is perhaps a little ‘girly’, which might be a put off for some boys. Also, although the book cover doesn’t give a recommended readership age, Day One’s publicity states that this book is targeted at the upper primary school age. I feel a more realistic target audience would probably be very top primary through to lower secondary. This is a great little book which deserves as wide a readership as possible.
I’m off now to cover this copy with some manly wrapping paper before passing it on to my 12-year-old son...
Jane McNabb,
The Slade Evangelical Church, former primary school teacher and author of Daylight at Midnight — a book on Esther for women
