Description:
The prophet Samuel is looking for the next king of Israel. Will he find him on David's farm?
David and the Kingmaker examines the vital issue of self-worth, and reminds children that good character is far more important than good looks, brains, talent or popularity. Through his encounter with the prophet Samuel, David catches a glimpse of how God sees him, and of his amazing future as king of Israel.
It is a tale which encourages us to read between the lines of what the Bible tells us about David's early years. The light-hearted and beautifully illustrated pictures will delight parents and children alike, regardless of religious conviction.
Brief description: Fiona Veitch Smith is a freelance writer of children's fiction and has lectured in journalism and creative writing. She lives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Review Quotes:
A superb new series for primary-school children by Fiona Veitch Smith is all about David. It stirred my own limp faith, let alone my three-year-old's burgeoning spirituality, to read of the young David's prayer for protection - how his "heart beat as strong as a drum as God filled him up with courage".
It was moving, too, to hear my child's voice so clearly in David's many phrases: "Dear God, why doesn't anyone want to play with me?", or in the eager question, "Will I get a crown?" after his anointing - so well does the author understand the modern child.
David's spat with Goliath is fun, of course, but there are clever anachronistic illustrations throughout - the handsome but vain Elib in David and the Kingmaker, for example, is drawn holding a pot of hair gel. And yet biblical names and terminology are retained, even neatly explained: a prophet, we learn, is someone "who can see inside people's hearts and minds.
Jemima Thackeray, Church Times