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The Young Testament #1
Joseph's Boy
Funny, adventurous and moving kids'-eye take on the first Christmas - aimed at preteens, sneakily enjoyed by adults!
Jamie had BIG dreams. He wanted to be a prince. He wanted his dad to marry a lovely young woman called Mary. He wanted an army of little brothers and sisters who would look up to him and think how clever and important he was.
But at *no point* did he expect one of them to be a long-awaited king, destined to reign forever. Nope. Not part of the plan...
JOSEPH'S BOY is the first of The Young Testament, a fun, accessible series of full-length books on the Jesus story, from the viewpoint of the children and young people involved.
Jamie had BIG dreams. He wanted to be a prince. He wanted his dad to marry a lovely young woman called Mary. He wanted an army of little brothers and sisters who would look up to him and think how clever and important he was.
But at *no point* did he expect one of them to be a long-awaited king, destined to reign forever. Nope. Not part of the plan...
JOSEPH'S BOY is the first of The Young Testament, a fun, accessible series of full-length books on the Jesus story, from the viewpoint of the children and young people involved.
211 pages, Paperback
Published December 11, 2019
About the author
L.R. Hay
6 books11 followersLynn Robertson Hay's writing covers books, TV, film, audio and theatre, including winning a Writers' Guild award.
Her screenplay BRAVE THE DARK stars Jared Harris (CHERNOBYL, THE CROWN etc) and Nicholas Hamilton (IT, and so on) and opened in theaters in January 2025.
Lynn is thrilled to have entered the Whoniverse with two stories for Big Finish, and wrote a very different kind of doctor in TV soap DOCTORS on BBC1.
She is also one of the world record-holding writers on crowd-created feature film THE IMPACT.
Lynn was a quarterfinalist in the Academy's prestigious Nicholl Fellowship (yes, *that* Academy), from 6,400 screenplays worldwide and came 3rd at LA Femme and 8th in Steven Knight's Midlands Writers competition.
Join her mailing list to be kept up-to-date with books, films and Doctor Who audios!
https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/form...
Lynn is also an actor, and has played parts ranging from Lady Macbeth to Mole and Puck to Miss Prism. Within the last few years she’s been seen wielding a rolling pin as Flo Capp in ANDY CAPP - THE MUSICAL, made her West End debut understudying the mighty Stockard Channing in APOLOGIA and going on in that amazing lead role 8 times, and appeared in season 3 of crime drama UNFORGOTTEN for ITV.
One-woman show REDEEMING FEATURES has played a variety of venues in the UK, US and elsewhere - tents, shopping malls, ornate Victorian theatres, cafes, streets, a 10th birthday party, an 85th birthday party, a swish Swiss hotel that inspired Disney, Kipling and Scott Fitzgerald, and the only part of Glastonbury Abbey still standing (not her fault).
Lynn's claim to fame is that she once won an episode of TV quiz show FIFTEEN TO ONE.
Her screenplay BRAVE THE DARK stars Jared Harris (CHERNOBYL, THE CROWN etc) and Nicholas Hamilton (IT, and so on) and opened in theaters in January 2025.
Lynn is thrilled to have entered the Whoniverse with two stories for Big Finish, and wrote a very different kind of doctor in TV soap DOCTORS on BBC1.
She is also one of the world record-holding writers on crowd-created feature film THE IMPACT.
Lynn was a quarterfinalist in the Academy's prestigious Nicholl Fellowship (yes, *that* Academy), from 6,400 screenplays worldwide and came 3rd at LA Femme and 8th in Steven Knight's Midlands Writers competition.
Join her mailing list to be kept up-to-date with books, films and Doctor Who audios!
https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/form...
Lynn is also an actor, and has played parts ranging from Lady Macbeth to Mole and Puck to Miss Prism. Within the last few years she’s been seen wielding a rolling pin as Flo Capp in ANDY CAPP - THE MUSICAL, made her West End debut understudying the mighty Stockard Channing in APOLOGIA and going on in that amazing lead role 8 times, and appeared in season 3 of crime drama UNFORGOTTEN for ITV.
One-woman show REDEEMING FEATURES has played a variety of venues in the UK, US and elsewhere - tents, shopping malls, ornate Victorian theatres, cafes, streets, a 10th birthday party, an 85th birthday party, a swish Swiss hotel that inspired Disney, Kipling and Scott Fitzgerald, and the only part of Glastonbury Abbey still standing (not her fault).
Lynn's claim to fame is that she once won an episode of TV quiz show FIFTEEN TO ONE.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 6, 2021
A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW
12th November 2020
TITLE: Joseph's Boy
AUTHOR: L R Hay
Star Rating: 4
‘8 – 12 yr old children should very much enjoy this light, fun story of the nativity. Highly recommended!’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
REVIEW
There are many, MANY wonderful elements to this biblical story for 8 – 12 year olds. Firstly, and this is possibly the most important bit for children, it’s funny. The author – L R Hay – knows her readers well, and she knows, in order for them to access it, they need to enjoy it. So, it’s written in a modern way and the hero, Joseph’s boy, is, well, very much like a boy is today: he knows what he knows and wants what he wants!
As this book’s not for me (I’m 43), I handed it to my daughter, Felicity, to enjoy. She’s 11 and this is what she thought:
‘It’s fun to read a bible story written in a modern way. Often, when we study RE in school, the text is difficult to understand. But this wasn’t. The best character was his dad, Joseph. I liked the way he sang with his son in the first chapter. That was funny. When my dad sings, it’s embarrassing! Lots happened all the way through till the end and I was never bored. I just wish there had been illustrations in it. This is a good book and I will recommend it to my RE teacher in school.’
So, there you have it! All I can add is that in terms of the writing style, it is refreshingly simple. This adds a lot to the story. Also, the author has excellent comic timing and the book is full of little gems that will surprise the reader and keep them turning the page.
So, would I recommend this book? Absolutely! I would think any child aged 8 – 12 would find the characters intriguing, and the story of Jesus’s birth mesmerizing. Also, and this is important, I think parents would not only enjoy it too, but would be happy with the way the author retells the nativity story in a comic, yet respectful way.
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Joseph’s Boy
Author: L R Hay
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 8/10
Cover: 7/10
Of the 15 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
13 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
11 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
14 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“Any book that helps me to access the bible with my children has my blessing. A fun book, often rather funny, my boy seemed to enjoy it. And there was a lot to discuss after we finished reading it.” Mother of boy, aged 12
“I thought it was cool how the writer wrote it from the boy’s POV. That was clever. It’s sort of an adventure but it’s a retelling of Jesus’s birth too.” Girl reader, aged 12 – with a little help from her teacher
“This is super-clever! I think it was funny in parts but not always. I find the bible very hard to follow but this was okay and I understood all of it.” Girl reader, aged 11
“The writing style worked well for this readership: not overly descriptive with plenty happening and a hefty dollop of humour. Although slow in parts, it’s fantastic in terms of accessibility to pre-teens. I suspect it would be welcome in most schools.” Male reader (publisher), aged 55
To Sum It Up:
‘The Jesus story from a totally different POV! A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
12th November 2020
TITLE: Joseph's Boy
AUTHOR: L R Hay
Star Rating: 4
‘8 – 12 yr old children should very much enjoy this light, fun story of the nativity. Highly recommended!’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
REVIEW
There are many, MANY wonderful elements to this biblical story for 8 – 12 year olds. Firstly, and this is possibly the most important bit for children, it’s funny. The author – L R Hay – knows her readers well, and she knows, in order for them to access it, they need to enjoy it. So, it’s written in a modern way and the hero, Joseph’s boy, is, well, very much like a boy is today: he knows what he knows and wants what he wants!
As this book’s not for me (I’m 43), I handed it to my daughter, Felicity, to enjoy. She’s 11 and this is what she thought:
‘It’s fun to read a bible story written in a modern way. Often, when we study RE in school, the text is difficult to understand. But this wasn’t. The best character was his dad, Joseph. I liked the way he sang with his son in the first chapter. That was funny. When my dad sings, it’s embarrassing! Lots happened all the way through till the end and I was never bored. I just wish there had been illustrations in it. This is a good book and I will recommend it to my RE teacher in school.’
So, there you have it! All I can add is that in terms of the writing style, it is refreshingly simple. This adds a lot to the story. Also, the author has excellent comic timing and the book is full of little gems that will surprise the reader and keep them turning the page.
So, would I recommend this book? Absolutely! I would think any child aged 8 – 12 would find the characters intriguing, and the story of Jesus’s birth mesmerizing. Also, and this is important, I think parents would not only enjoy it too, but would be happy with the way the author retells the nativity story in a comic, yet respectful way.
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Joseph’s Boy
Author: L R Hay
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 8/10
Cover: 7/10
Of the 15 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
13 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
11 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
14 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“Any book that helps me to access the bible with my children has my blessing. A fun book, often rather funny, my boy seemed to enjoy it. And there was a lot to discuss after we finished reading it.” Mother of boy, aged 12
“I thought it was cool how the writer wrote it from the boy’s POV. That was clever. It’s sort of an adventure but it’s a retelling of Jesus’s birth too.” Girl reader, aged 12 – with a little help from her teacher
“This is super-clever! I think it was funny in parts but not always. I find the bible very hard to follow but this was okay and I understood all of it.” Girl reader, aged 11
“The writing style worked well for this readership: not overly descriptive with plenty happening and a hefty dollop of humour. Although slow in parts, it’s fantastic in terms of accessibility to pre-teens. I suspect it would be welcome in most schools.” Male reader (publisher), aged 55
To Sum It Up:
‘The Jesus story from a totally different POV! A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
December 20, 2019
Joseph's Boy is the second book on this story that I've read from L. R. Hay and like the first, I found it quirky, funny and immensely enjoyable. This is a book, principally aimed at children, but honestly, it is a good read for any age. Yes, the subject matter is religious per se but the Christian aspect does in no way overwhelm the author's ability to tell a ripping yarn.
I thought viewing the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah from the perspective of a six-year-old boy, Jesus' brother Jamie (James) was an inspired concept. The author also likes to drop in her own observations from time to time and although this can be annoying in some stories, here it absolutely seems to work.
As someone who grew up being indoctrinated in the Christian/Judeo ethos, I was able to easily identify with the twists and turns the story took. Yes, the author did take the odd liberty or two from time to time from the "recognised" tale of Jesus' birth but it was all smart and sensible departures that went well with the telling.
I also appreciated the author's explanations of her mindset as it applied to dates, at the end of the book. I guess I must be as much a History buff as she declares she is, because I found this intensely fascinating.
Although, I along with most of the world, knows what happens next in this story, I am still waiting for the next book with baited breath. Seeing all this unfold from James' perspective is fascinating and I cannot wait for book three in this series. Well done to L. R. Hay
I thought viewing the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah from the perspective of a six-year-old boy, Jesus' brother Jamie (James) was an inspired concept. The author also likes to drop in her own observations from time to time and although this can be annoying in some stories, here it absolutely seems to work.
As someone who grew up being indoctrinated in the Christian/Judeo ethos, I was able to easily identify with the twists and turns the story took. Yes, the author did take the odd liberty or two from time to time from the "recognised" tale of Jesus' birth but it was all smart and sensible departures that went well with the telling.
I also appreciated the author's explanations of her mindset as it applied to dates, at the end of the book. I guess I must be as much a History buff as she declares she is, because I found this intensely fascinating.
Although, I along with most of the world, knows what happens next in this story, I am still waiting for the next book with baited breath. Seeing all this unfold from James' perspective is fascinating and I cannot wait for book three in this series. Well done to L. R. Hay
November 9, 2021
A wonderfully fun and thought-provoking re-telling of the Christmas story, imagining what it would have been like to experience the birth of Jesus from a child's perspective. The author, Lynn, is witty and creative, and there are lots of very funny moments and clever asides (don't try putting olives in a fruit salad; people won't thank you). She has a lot of fun with some of the added characters too - like Theo, the pretentious child who arrives with the wise men. Or Ahura Zaramanah Asha Hu-Raoda Vahu-Barezan Bagahada-Putha, to give him his full name!
At the same time, the book aims to stay within boundaries of biblical and historical possibility, and the invented narrative is a good prompt to thinking about what might have actually happened at the first Christmas. Lynn weaves in historical and cultural information to help with this, and generally these background facts are well-integrated and not too obtrusive. So, you'll lean more about temple rituals, festivals, first-century houses, shepherd practices and the Songs of Ascents (a bit like Ten Green Bottles but "less likely to make someone want to stuff a sock in your mouth").
I should note that there is one main exception to the biblical accuracy, which is Jamie (or James), whose perspective is told in the story. He is placed as the older brother of Jesus, but the author acknowledges at the beginning that this is a plot device rather than historically true. Some readers may be unsure about this kind of literary invention, although I think it works as an extended imagination exercise. More generally, Christian parents might want to talk with their children while they're reading (a good thing to do anyway!) to make sure they understand that the main narrative is true, but the detail is fictional. On this point, it might have helped to have included some pointers to where you would find the actual main events in the Bible.
Read with this in mind, there is lots for young readers to think about in their response to the real events, as well as just enjoying the story. What sort of Messiah were people expecting? What sort of Messiah was Jesus in the end? What would a right response to him look like? How did these events fulfil prophecy? What does that show about how God works out his plans? etc. This could be the source of some good conversations.
Overall, this is a great book for preteens to engage afresh with the nativity story. Less confident readers may struggle with the page count, but Lynn's creative humour is an advantage. And I really enjoyed reading it too!
At the same time, the book aims to stay within boundaries of biblical and historical possibility, and the invented narrative is a good prompt to thinking about what might have actually happened at the first Christmas. Lynn weaves in historical and cultural information to help with this, and generally these background facts are well-integrated and not too obtrusive. So, you'll lean more about temple rituals, festivals, first-century houses, shepherd practices and the Songs of Ascents (a bit like Ten Green Bottles but "less likely to make someone want to stuff a sock in your mouth").
I should note that there is one main exception to the biblical accuracy, which is Jamie (or James), whose perspective is told in the story. He is placed as the older brother of Jesus, but the author acknowledges at the beginning that this is a plot device rather than historically true. Some readers may be unsure about this kind of literary invention, although I think it works as an extended imagination exercise. More generally, Christian parents might want to talk with their children while they're reading (a good thing to do anyway!) to make sure they understand that the main narrative is true, but the detail is fictional. On this point, it might have helped to have included some pointers to where you would find the actual main events in the Bible.
Read with this in mind, there is lots for young readers to think about in their response to the real events, as well as just enjoying the story. What sort of Messiah were people expecting? What sort of Messiah was Jesus in the end? What would a right response to him look like? How did these events fulfil prophecy? What does that show about how God works out his plans? etc. This could be the source of some good conversations.
Overall, this is a great book for preteens to engage afresh with the nativity story. Less confident readers may struggle with the page count, but Lynn's creative humour is an advantage. And I really enjoyed reading it too!
November 23, 2021
This is a beautiful retelling of a biblical story, a perfect read for children and adults in the run up to Christmas. We follow young James, a six year old boy who is the son of Joseph.
I found myself grinning like a Cheshire Cat at the author's witty observations throughout the story, this definitely added something different which I felt worked really well.
The story is put to us in a modern way which makes it more accessible to children and adults, the characters are quirky and believable and I personally found the story being told from the perspective of a 6 years quite ingenious!
Now, I read this to my 9 year old nephew who is far from interested in the bible, Christianity or anything religion related. So I thought I might have a tough time keeping him interested in the story, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong! He loved it! The writer certainly knows what she is doing here. How do you get a child invested in a story with a subject line that doesn’t interest them at all? Simple - make it fun - and that is exactly what the author did here!
This was an easy 5 star read for me and Dylan (my nephew) . It was well written, funny, educational, thought provoking and entertaining.
Definitely one to pick up to get the festives started!
I would like to say a massive thank you to the author for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautiful story.
I found myself grinning like a Cheshire Cat at the author's witty observations throughout the story, this definitely added something different which I felt worked really well.
The story is put to us in a modern way which makes it more accessible to children and adults, the characters are quirky and believable and I personally found the story being told from the perspective of a 6 years quite ingenious!
Now, I read this to my 9 year old nephew who is far from interested in the bible, Christianity or anything religion related. So I thought I might have a tough time keeping him interested in the story, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong! He loved it! The writer certainly knows what she is doing here. How do you get a child invested in a story with a subject line that doesn’t interest them at all? Simple - make it fun - and that is exactly what the author did here!
This was an easy 5 star read for me and Dylan (my nephew) . It was well written, funny, educational, thought provoking and entertaining.
Definitely one to pick up to get the festives started!
I would like to say a massive thank you to the author for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautiful story.
December 3, 2020
I really wanted to like this book and there was a lot about it I DID like, I just felt that it was too long and took too long to set the scene. Having said that, it is a very clever re-telling of the nativity story.
In this version of the story, Joseph is a widower with a six year old son, so when he and Mary marry, Jesus has a ready made big brother. It is this big brother, Jamie, who narrates the story.
The author has added in a host of other characters, such as the family in Jerusalem that Joseph regularly stays with when they travel there for feasts and festivals. Through these additional characters, we are able to meet Zechariah and Elizabeth before they receive the news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and Anna who spends all of her time in the temple.
The author has done a great job packing the story with authentic Biblical detail and where she has strayed from the Biblical narrative, for example introducing Jamie, the narrator, she very clearly tells us, leaving us in no doubt about what is true and what has been added to create a better flow in the narrative. Her Biblical knowledge is obviously vast, but this is perhaps her downfall; trying to pack in too much authentic detail at the expense of a pacey story. Still worth a read though.
In this version of the story, Joseph is a widower with a six year old son, so when he and Mary marry, Jesus has a ready made big brother. It is this big brother, Jamie, who narrates the story.
The author has added in a host of other characters, such as the family in Jerusalem that Joseph regularly stays with when they travel there for feasts and festivals. Through these additional characters, we are able to meet Zechariah and Elizabeth before they receive the news of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and Anna who spends all of her time in the temple.
The author has done a great job packing the story with authentic Biblical detail and where she has strayed from the Biblical narrative, for example introducing Jamie, the narrator, she very clearly tells us, leaving us in no doubt about what is true and what has been added to create a better flow in the narrative. Her Biblical knowledge is obviously vast, but this is perhaps her downfall; trying to pack in too much authentic detail at the expense of a pacey story. Still worth a read though.
January 22, 2020
This is the telling of the birth of Jesus from the point of view of his brother James, Jamie. This has its quirky moments as the author's distinctive humour shines through. At times it was as if I was reading a play by Shakespeare as Hay breaks off from the narrative to give the reader an aside to explain in a comic way some background to what is happening.
Her explanation of a virgin for a pre-teen didn't quite work and probably was best left alone, although I did find the appearance of various angels quite scary, which I expect in biblical times would have been the case.
Although most of the readership would know the basic story, Hay's retelling was to the point, with an added bonus at the end of an explanation of some dates and historical background. something I was grateful for.
Her explanation of a virgin for a pre-teen didn't quite work and probably was best left alone, although I did find the appearance of various angels quite scary, which I expect in biblical times would have been the case.
Although most of the readership would know the basic story, Hay's retelling was to the point, with an added bonus at the end of an explanation of some dates and historical background. something I was grateful for.
December 12, 2021
This is a wonderful childs view of the Christmas story, but definitely relevant for adults as well. It's faithful to the gospel story but adds fictional detail that we don't have in the original. As well as being a lovely story it made me think more about the original story and the massive impact Jesus had on people's lives from day one 😍📖😍
March 20, 2020
3.5 stars
“Joseph’s Boy” is a story about Jamie. Joseph’s hypothetical first son (As the author points out in the beginning, Jesus would have been born first to Mary and Joseph but for this story she had it be that Joseph has Jamie – James – from a pervious marriage so as to have an “eye-witness”, if you will, to the occurrence of Jesus’ birth, but yes in truth, that didn’t happen. I think it would be important to stress this to any children reading). It is a cute story, simply told with Jamie adventerously discovering it all. I did feel that maybe it was a little too light-hearted at times. Yes, we need to keep children entertained, but the account of Jesus is so marvelous, so serious that I feel like to downplay it could be harmful. I would definitely suggest a parent (or older sibling, mentor, etc.) reading this story aloud and to then discuss the real account as they go, so our children grasp the importance of this miraculous event of Jesus’s coming to dwell with us.I did really appreciate the history the author shared at the end, and that she was clear that Jesus’ birth didn’t occure on December 25th. The author is clearly well researched and I was glad of that! It’s rare to find this fact shared. Overall, I enjoyed this read, though as mentioned would recommend someone to read along with the child and share the Biblical account.
“Joseph’s Boy” is a story about Jamie. Joseph’s hypothetical first son (As the author points out in the beginning, Jesus would have been born first to Mary and Joseph but for this story she had it be that Joseph has Jamie – James – from a pervious marriage so as to have an “eye-witness”, if you will, to the occurrence of Jesus’ birth, but yes in truth, that didn’t happen. I think it would be important to stress this to any children reading). It is a cute story, simply told with Jamie adventerously discovering it all. I did feel that maybe it was a little too light-hearted at times. Yes, we need to keep children entertained, but the account of Jesus is so marvelous, so serious that I feel like to downplay it could be harmful. I would definitely suggest a parent (or older sibling, mentor, etc.) reading this story aloud and to then discuss the real account as they go, so our children grasp the importance of this miraculous event of Jesus’s coming to dwell with us.I did really appreciate the history the author shared at the end, and that she was clear that Jesus’ birth didn’t occure on December 25th. The author is clearly well researched and I was glad of that! It’s rare to find this fact shared. Overall, I enjoyed this read, though as mentioned would recommend someone to read along with the child and share the Biblical account.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews