Get to Know Mary by Nancy I. Sanders (Book Review)
When I got the chance to review Mary in the Get to Know series by Nancy I. Sanders (Zondervan, 2014), I thought this was going to be a fictionalized biography of Jesus’ mother. Instead, it turned out to be an in-depth study of Mary’s life.
The book isn’t told as a story, though it does include stories from Mary’s life as described in the Bible. However, Sanders helps young readers get a fuller understanding of those Bible passages by explaining customs and describing what life would have been like for Mary.
For example, in Chapter 6 (“Mary and Joseph’s Home), we read about what kind of houses poor people in Nazareth might have had. Then we learn about what kinds of food they ate and how they treated sickness and various ailments.
“Mary might wash clothes in the streams that formed when it rained hard or with water she got from the village well. Soap was made from animal fat mixed with ashes from plants.”
Each chapter is full of fascinating details and beautiful color illustrations and photographs that help bring Mary’s world to life. There are explanations of Jewish holy days, pictures of archeological finds from Mary’s time, maps showing where things take place, and much more.
Although the reading level is too advanced for my boys (better for upper elementary), I plan to read parts of it aloud to them as we begin our study of the New Testament. It is a wonderful resource for teaching about life in Israel at the time of Christ. I look forward to reading other books in the Get to Know series.
