The Oxford Book of Bible Stories

Doherty introduces this book by describing hearing – and being entranced by – Bible stories told on the beach when she was a child. She has very adequately recaptured the storyteller’s voice in this retelling of the major stories of the Old Testament, from Eden to Jonah’s arrival in Ninevah.

Like her, I was captivated by the sheer drama of it all – I haven’t read through these stories in sequence before, and found I couldn’t put it down. Her language retains something of the gravitas, phrasing and in places the actual words of the original, managing to be contemporary while avoiding intrusive modernisms. It is easy to read and would read aloud well. A useful index is included.

The illustrations, however, are disappointing. Cockroft’s paintings are unconvincing, especially Eve encountering the serpent waist deep in lotus flowers, while a coy Adam looks on from afar. His pencil drawings and his processions of people or camels are better, but on the whole I found myself disregarding them and getting on with the story.

So, four stars for Doherty’s text; a great introduction to these important stories and one children could return to many times.