Stories from the Bible

'The next day God made Heaven and Earth, doing the big bits first.' Martin Waddell's chatty retelling of 17 Old Testament tales will probably not impress those for whom venerable cadences of the King James version are sacrosanct, and the slightly preachy praising of the Lord which accompanies the narratives might rankle with those who like their folklore to be non-evangelical. However, Waddell insists the tales be read with the Bible, not instead of it, and his friendly, lively humorous prose succeeds in his stated aim of making many of the most fascinating and influential Bible stories more accessible to children. The stories are presented in a handsome picture book format with bold, emblematic paintings by Geoffrey Patterson.