Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide

Cultures of the Ancient World

by Marian Broida

Children can try their hand at re-creating ancient Israelite culture—along with the cultures of their neighbors, the Philistines and Phoenicians—in a way that will provide perspective on current events. The book covers a key period from the Israelites’ settlement in Canaan in 1200 B.C.E. to their return from exile in Babylonia in 538 B.C.E. This part of the Middle East—no larger than modern-day Michigan—was the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More than 35 projects include stomping grapes into juice, building a model Phoenician trading ship, making a Philistine headdress, and writing on a broken clay pot. Israelites', Phoenicians', and Philistines' writing and languages, the way they built their homes, the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and the work they did, and of course, their many interesting stories, are all explored.

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ruth Barone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a great overview of the three ancient civilizations it covers. I bought this book for the section on the Phonecians and was not disappointed. It is well written and kept my six year old interested. It's also very informative and includes instructions for crafts and activities if you have a child that likes hands on learning. A great addition to your child's ancient history library. Reading level is probably around 5th grade, but younger kids will enjoy this book too.

[Jorgina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this so long ago I don't remember all the parts of it. I purchased this to accompany Susan Wise Bowers world history series. I do remember it had some fun activities that went along with the study of the Israelites.

[R. C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book WAY too specific. It was limited to a tiny sliver of the ancient history of the Israelites, not the most frequently discussed, and I could not figure any reason the author chose then and there to detail for kids. Furthermore, there was no narrative in the book, so placing the Israelites of this title in context with any other history of those people would be pretty tricky for any kid still young enough to dig the crafts and activities described. If you want crafts, get Old Testament Days instead. It has much more variety. If you want a history of the Israelites for kids... well, let me know if you find one.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rereading this, I'm struck by the author and the intro author being Bible experts who don't see the Bible as fact...
There are better resources out there.
The quality of craft projects is also lacking.
The known history of the Philistines and Phoenecians is pretty good but readily available with a Google search.