A Cry From Egypt

Raising Real Men, by Hal & Melanie Young, chooses wisely when deciding what to post, publish, or promote. They are desiring to encourage parents to make wise, lasting choices for their children. While it sound like this might only be for parents with boys, it's not. One of their newest releases, A Cry From Egypt, solidifies this. At a price of $12.50, it's not going to break your budget, but it would be a great choice for a birthday present.



Both our girls love reading allegories. This review was awarded to Arlene (age 12,) who finished the book (for the first time) in less than a week. Then she was disappointed that it wasn't time to post the review yet... what, we have to wait until everybody else on the TOS Crew is done reading too??? (Yes, I did LOL!)

So, if you're looking for a solid, captivating book for your child to read, or for a family read-aloud, we both give A Cry From Egypt thumbs up! When Arlene got to the plague of frogs, she wanted to know which plague came next, so she would have an idea what might happen in the book. Being a Mom, I told her to go get her Bible and look it up herself! (I did remind her to look in Exodus.)

Below, you'll find Arlene'e review. This 176 page book, written by homeschool graduate Hope Auer, is the first in a series titled "The Promised Land." (It even includes a preview chapter from the second book.) As a parent, I appreciated not only the quality writing in the book, but the choice of the Young's to publish a book by a homeschooler. Not just because she was educated at home, but because it gives an example to our own girls about one of the many different way God can choose to use your life. By writing quality books, Hope Auer is using her God-given gifts to edify others. She is building up some of the youngest in God's Kingdom, for His glory. You can learn more about Hope, and her heart for encouraging others on her website : http://acryfromegypt.com

So, now, the part you've been waiting for: Arlene'e review :)

A Cry From Egypt is a book about a girl named Jarah and her family who are Israelites, well all except her Mother who worships the Egyptian gods instead of Yahweh. Her family includes her Father, Mother, and siblings,

(Ages approximated) Eitan 18, Shayna 15, Lemuel 14, Jarah 12, Tirzah 8, Raphael 5 and  Yanni 2.

It’s about what happens to them during the plagues on Egypt. When Jarah first hears about Moses she learns not all the  Iraelites like him while others believe he is the deliverance God promised. They are what I guess what you might call a normal family with arguing parents. Hers argue all the time, mostly about religion. Her mother is trying to teach them the ways of Ra and her father about Yahweh. Jarah has kind older brothers, a flirtatious older sister, a little sister and funny younger brothers. Speaking of funny, once during the plague of frogs Raphael asks why the Egyptians don’t just kill the frogs and their mother replies you can’t even think about killing a frog, frogs are sacred. 

(exerpt from page 60)

Raphael stared at  her and blinked“you mean you and the Egyptians worship..frogs?”

“ No,” mother said in exasperation. “One of the gods is Hegret. She has the head of a frog. Frogs are associated with fertility and resurrection because they come from the NIle. So frogs are sacred because they represent the goodness of Hegret. We don’t worship frogs. We just hold them as sacred.”

Raphael stared at his mother for a moment and then burst into laughter. “You- you worship frogs?” He was laughing so hard that Tirzah and Yanni started laughing with him. It was all Jarah and Lemuel cold do to hold their composure and not laugh with them.

“Stop it, all of you. This is a serious matter!” Mother shouted, angered by this offense against her beliefs. 

(end of exerpt)

Their Mother is like this for most of the plagues because she and most of the Egyptians believed this was punishment from the Egyptian gods since all the plagues had to do with something  sacred to them: their cattle dying, the nile turning to blood, the frogs invading (since of one of there gods has a frog head), although the Israelites believe it was Yahweh trying to save them from the Egyptians. In the end the Israelites are set free and the story continues in the next book. I liked it a lot, it is not dry or boring.

As members of the TOS Crew, we received an advance copy of A Cry From Egypt free of charge in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are ours.