The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls (Biblical Fiction for Kids ~ A Review)

My Youngest son is always up for reviewing books, especially those with some sort of Historical twist, so he really enjoyed reading the first two books in The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series, published by WorthyKids/Ideals.

The stories follow a a sibling pair, time-traveling with the use of scrolls, a similar device to another popular time-traveling series. However, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls explores Biblical History, and doesn't engage in the use of a well-known evil literary character as an innocuous librarian... (Yeah, personally couldn't stomach that other un-named series, almost entirely based on the use of that character... Character choice is important, folks!)

I will tell you right now that my Youngest sped through both books the evening they arrived, and declared them to be very good! He enjoyed reading these fictional stories with a Biblical basis that included a little humor and were very relatable for a ten year old. However, he is not great with book reports (I need to work on that a bit more), so I will give you my synopsis of each book. :)

Book 1 

In The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Beginning, we are introduced to the main characters, 9 year old Peter, his older sister Mary, and Hank (their time-of-day-telling dog), along with their Great-Uncle Solomon, and archaeologist and the keeper of the Hidden Scrolls.

We find out that there is a legend attached to the scrolls, which can only be opened by "the chosen ones."

As it turns out, Peter and Mary are called by the Lion's roar, and end up going on an adventure back to the very first day of Creation~ when the world was without and form and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep... just imagine what that must have felt and looked like...

Along the way they end up meeting Michael the Archangel, who saves them when the waters are divided (before there is land) and gives them a little insight to their task. The words on the scroll are written in Hebrew, and they have to decipher them in 7 days, or they will be left in that time period, never to return home. While this isn't my favorite choice of conflict, it does add an element of excitement to the story for younger readers. 

The children see each new thing being formed, and even encounter the snake in the garden before Eve is created (Mary offers a Karate Kick to his head, which surprises the snake (Satan), who of course has no foreknowledge of such machinations~ but he's a quick learner, and it only works once).

The children manage to figure out the words on the scroll, and are immediately returned to their Great-Uncle's library, to discover that their week of adventure had taken less than an hour (probably only moments) in their own time.

Book 2

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: Race to the Ark

In this story, Peter, Mary, and Hank are sent back to the time of Noah and the Ark. They encounter the lawless people of the world, help with the animals and organizing the ark, and meet up once again with Satan, in the form of the Dark Ruler. The angel Michael gives assistance as needed, and a Lion helps out as well.

My only beef with this particular story is a little mix-up on the part of the author~ Jubal Cain and Tubal Cain are introduced as Noah's brothers (and an artifact of Tubal's handiwork is found in Great-Uncle Solomon's possession). However, while they all had a father with the same name (Lamech), I'm pretty sure that Tubal Cain and Jubal Cain were descended from Cain, while Noah was descended from Seth. Use this as a teachable moment~ that even authors and grownups (And Biblical Scholars) make mistakes, and double-checking research is hugely important. ;)

So, what age are these books good for? My Youngest is ten and enjoyed reading them, just like he enjoys reading Hank the Cowdog and Encyclopedia Brown books. He also enjoys reading lengthy chapter books (He read the entire Redwall series this summer...), so I would say that these books should appeal to a range of ages and reading abilities.

Both books are written on a 560L Lexile reading level, which is suitable for grades 2-6. That being said, the comprehension level probably starts a little lower, which would make this a great read-aloud for children ages 5 and up.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: WorthyKids/Ideals
• Product: The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls, Books 1 and 2
• Ages: 6-10 would be my recommendation
• Price: $6.99 list price (Purchase from Amazon or Barnes and Noble) 

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Blessings~

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