HIDING BABY MOSES

A retelling of the story of Moses, cast adrift and saved by Pharaoh’s daughter.

A mournful mother prepares a watertight basket for her baby son, and she and his older sister kiss him goodbye. They carry him through a crowded marketplace to the river, singing as they walk along, “God will hide us in the shelter of a rock.” They then set him afloat. The sister, who narrates, imagines many dangers in and about the Nile: soldiers, currents, crocodiles. Then, dressed in ornate finery, Pharaoh’s daughter and her attendants appear. The sister would like to snatch the baby from the water, but it is Pharaoh’s daughter who holds him and comforts him. The sister shows herself and tells them that she can bring them a woman to nurse the baby; it is his mother. Miriam, the sister, tells the story in her own words, although she is never named in the text. The narration circles around verses of the author’s original song, “The Shelter of God’s Wings,” and reads like stanzas to its refrain of God’s power. The mundane illustrations feature brown-skinned people and a plethora of green reeds. In the author’s note, there is a brief summary of the history of the Hebrew people in Egypt from Joseph to Moses and the entry into the promised land. The festive holiday of Passover, which celebrates this event, is not mentioned, however.

Not a worthwhile or necessary addition to Passover stories; it may find a home on the shelves of some Christian families, however.