Review: a traditional telling of the story of David and Goliath
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2013
Parents wanting a traditional tale from Christian mythology won't find any issues with this story. I would have liked some information about why the Israelites and the Philistines were fighting. The text uses battle terminology which a modern day child would not know so perhaps a glossary at the back would help and add to its educational nature. Although this is a well known myth I found myself wondering about its place as a story in society today where we attempt to solve disputes with diplomacy. My daughter and I had a discussion about what the people who used to tell this tale thought it meant and whether we thought it was relevant today. This got us talking about Rosa Parks, Ghandi and Mandella who we thought were good modern examples of people who fought against oppression.One gripe I had with the story was that it skipped tense a lot and moved into a sort of sports cast voice. I feel it's better to stick with the past tense all the way through but some people might enjoy the shift.