Imagine...The Ten Plagues by Matt Koceich

Imagine...The Ten Plagues
by Matt Koceich

ISBN-13: 9781683223801
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books
Released: March 1, 2018

Source: Bought.


Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The last thing fourth-grader Kai Wells remembers is being confronted by a bully on her walk home from school. What happens next can't be explained as Kai finds herself on the run for her life in ancient Egypt! An exciting adventure series for kids ages 8 to 12.


My Review:
Imagine...The Ten Plagues is an adventure story for ages 8 to 12. It's only very loosely based on the Bible account about the Exodus and didn't stay true to details given in the Bible. Even the historical details consisted only of a brief description of Egyptian clothing and temple and several mentions of how primitive things were. The characters were poorly developed, and little motive is provided. For some reason, Kai is protected by the first Egyptian who sees her even though this brings harm to him. Kai risked her life to help a Hebrew girl, and for some reason the Egyptian guards become obsessed with capturing or killing Kai. Kai isn't affected by the plagues, and we never learn why. And so on.

The focus was more on Kai trying to escape the Egyptian guards than on the Bible account of the plagues or the reason for them. There's only a brief mention of Moses confronting Pharaoh in the distance for the first plague. In the story, the plagues never affected the Israelites, but that protection didn't actually happen until the flies (Exodus 8:22). Many of the plagues happened at the wrong times and after only minutes (at most hours) had passed since the last plague, unlike the biblical account (Exodus 7:25, etc.). The Israelites were portrayed as living in a huge tent city near the Egyptians rather than in houses in a separate region (Exodus 12:22), and the firstborn died in the middle of the day rather than at midnight (Exodus 12:29). The Israelites left their tents behind as they fled and could be seen from that spot as they immediately escaped through the parted Red Sea. No army was after them, only two Egyptians chasing after Kai (Exodus 14). You get the idea.

While Kai did call out to God to help her when attacked, she concluded, "...the longer I'm in your world, the more confidence I find to believe in myself." She isn't in awe of what God's doing to prove His power or even how He's protected her but is pleased that she can face armed adults and survive. Sorry, but I didn't like the story and wouldn't give it to kids.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Imagine...The Great Flood by Matt Koceich

Imagine...The Great Flood
by Matt Koceich

ISBN-13: 9781683221296
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books
Released: August 1, 2017

Source: Bought.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The last thing ten-year-old Corey remembers was the searing pain in his head after falling while chasing his dog Molly into the woods. What happens next can't be explained as Corey wakes up and finds himself face-to-face with not one but two lions! An exciting, brand-new epic adventure series for kids ages 8 to 12.


My Review:
Imagine...The Great Flood is an adventure story for ages 8 to 12 and targeted at boys. It's only very loosely based on the Bible account about the Flood. Corey wakes up to see Shem leading lions toward the ark using a magical staff. Shem asks Corey to help him go out to where animals are gathering and lead them some distance back to the ark. But evil giants try to prevent them, threatening Corey's life, even leaving him in a pit to die. The focus was on the giants more than the ark or Noah. Corey sees how God has helped him against the evil attackers and decides to trust Him with the unknown future.

The characters were poorly developed, with only Corey showing some depth. The cover is deceptive as Corey was not on the ark during the Flood but is left behind. Genesis 7:9 says that the pairs of animal kinds came to the ark, so Corey wouldn't have needed to travel to help gather every species. Also, in this story, the rain began before all the people and animals were on the ark rather than God closing the ark's door 7 days before the rain started (Genesis 7:9-10,16).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.