The Story of Christ's Passion: A Tale for Children, Oberammergau 2000 - Hardcover

Gr 3-6-Bright, vivid photographs are this unusual book's only strength as it records the performance of a Passion play in the Bavarian village of Oberammergau. Dazzling costumes bring the biblical events to life, from the Last Supper to Christ's resurrection. However, gory, realistic pictures of floggings, torture, and crucifixion will almost certainly alarm younger children. In addition, the writing is stilted and confusing, with too-difficult vocabulary and a condescending tone. It's not always clear which sections of text tell the story and which are asides about the staging of the play. These side comments are, in general, annoying distractions that add little interest. The lambs used in the Passion play, readers are told, "find it exciting to be on stage" but "are happy when they can return safely to their field." Elsewhere, readers learn that the wooden cross is "extremely large and heavy. The actors who play the role of Jesus must be very strong indeed!" Frequent biblical quotations also break up the flow of the story. Most young readers will be confused rather than inspired by this title.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library

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