This is one of a series of books designed to "introduce young readers to the gospel". The book I have is the story of the Jaredites, starting with the Tower of Babel, and ending in the barge trip across the ocean headed to the promised land. Other books in the series include: Abinadi, Alma at the Waters of Mormon, Ammon and the King, The Broken Bow, Enos Prays, Captain Moroni's Title of Liberty, The Gadianton Robbers, Jesus is Born, Nephi and Lehi in Prison, and Jesus Visits the Nephites.

I have looked at a number of books of scripture written for children, and this book is one of the better written, better explained, and better illustrated that I've seen. Sherrie Johnson has simplified the story without making it into a cartoon. There are children characters on several pages that translate words or ideas that might be confusing or hard for children to understand. For example, they define words like chasten and explain what "confound the languages" means. They also give references to places in the scriptures that have more information about a particular topic, such as the Tower of Babel, and the Jaredites' journey.

Mark McCune's illustrations are colorful and detailed.

If I were to write illustrated books about scripture stories for my children, I would want them to be similar to what Sherrie Johnson and Mark McCune have created. I just wish they weren't all about men. I would also want to see the few women in the scriptures included in the series. I would like to see stories from the Bible also included. (I guess that would be necessary if there were to be women's stories included.)

[Nellie Brown]