Karen Leggett (Children's Literature)
Several women have collected and created stories about women in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Some are very well known, like Mary the Mother of Jesus, the Jewish Queen Esther, Hagar and Khadijah from the Muslim faith. All the women are at least mentioned in either the Jewish or Christian Bible or the Koran, but the authors acknowledge right in the introduction that they used their "imaginations and careful research to explore between the lines of each religion's sacred writings." These are stories. We know from the Christian Bible, for example, that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb after Jesus' crucifixion, but this story recounts how she "clenched her teeth to still her trembling" and how "Peter begged me not to go. They're afraid all of us will be arrested." Dialogue, emotion and details of setting have been superimposed on the often scanty information from sacred texts. The book follows storytelling traditions more than any nonfiction writing protocol. The stories may make these women more real than the often mysterious language of sacred texts, but readers need to understand exactly where "careful research" ends and "imagination" begins. The book is interesting reading and the stories are often compelling. They will be appreciated and enjoyed by young people of faith, young feminists and also by comparative religion students who might wish to understand the varied role women have played in the history of the world's major monotheistic religions. 2003, Sky Light Paths Publishing, $19.95. Ages 12 up.