- The Bronze Bow
genre = Children's,
Historical novel
publisher =Mifflin Company
release_date = 1989
media_type = Print (Hardback &Paperback )
pages = 260 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-575-00176-3 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by ="The Bronze Bow" is a book by
Elizabeth George Speare that won theNewbery Medal for excellence in Americanchildren's literature in1962 .Plot introduction
This book is set in
Israel of the first century, the lead character, a young man named Daniel Bar Jamin, grows up at the same time asJesus ofNazareth . Daniel's father was crucified in front of him by the Roman occupiers, so even at the age of eight, he immediately hates and distrusts the Romans and vows that he will avenge his father. His mother dies of grief after her husband's death. Daniel's younger sister Leah was emotionally traumatized because of these events and had never gone out of the house. Since then, the children are both taken in by their grandmother, but as she became ill and more poor over the years, she sells Daniel to Amalek the blacksmith. However, Daniel escapes to the mountains because of his cruel master and meets up with Rosh, the leader of an outlaw band of rebels in the mountains. Five years after these events, he meets two old childhood friends; Joel bar Hezron and his twin sister Malthace. Their meeting causes a series of events, including when Daniel was to go and help his demon-possessed sister when their grandmother passes away and the time when he meets up with a fictionalized version of Jesus Christ, who ends up helping Leah.Characters
*Jesus
*Daniel bar Jamin
*Rosh
*Leah (Daniel's sister)
*Simon
*Daniel's Grandmother
*Joel bar Hezron
*Malthace (Joel's sister, also known as Thace or Thacia)
*Samson
*Hezron, Joel and Malthace's Father
*Joktan
*Nathan, Kemuel and others (In Rosh's village band that Daniel and Joel organised)chool Use
This book is ideal for students (year 8) in christian schools to read. Also: teachers may like to use this book for reading.
Critical views
The book has been criticised by some
Jew ish groups for a hostile depiction of Judaism and an idealized version ofChristianity . Written by aSunday School teacher, it arguably representsmissionary literature and its use in classroom instruction remains controversial. For more details, please see:
* [http://www.bronzebow.info The Bronze Bow: A Critical Website] and
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~bronzebow The Bronze Bow in public schools: issues and insights]
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