Read + Review: Meet me at the Well: the girls and women of the bible by Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin

Meet Me at the Well is a book made up of nine retellings of stories from the Bible. Specifically, stories focusing on women. This book tells the tales of fourteen biblical women, Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Jocheved, Zipporah, Deborah, Jael, Hannah, Naomi, Ruth, and Esther. Each story is described in an effective way, and the authors make sure to point out relations to the modern world, carefully explain details that may be confusing, and pose important questions. Meet Me at the Well includes helpful introductions, the locations of the stories in the Bible, artwork, poems, questions with answers, and a piece of writing from a certain point of view to go along with the main reading. This book does not have a specific plot or setting, but rather showcases and connects numerous ones.

This book was absolutely marvelous. Not only did it re-tell biblical stories in an understandable and interesting fashion, but it went in-depth and discussed the story, sharing different opinions and aspects with the reader. Meet Me at the Well highlights the heroism of each female while keeping the stories unbiased, also explaining faults in the characters. The main readings were a joy to read, and the sections with questions and explanations were informative and helpful. Artwork and poetry accompanying the tales set a good mood, and were a pleasurable break from the educational content. The writing style itself was also fantastic, clear and concise with a good, balanced amount of information packed into sentences.

The most memorable thing about Meet me at the Well is the small question and answer sections throughout each story. They come in the form of small boxes on the edge of the main text, but sometimes appear as entire pages once a story is completed. After posing a question, the section provides a thorough explanation and general background knowledge on the story. These bits grant the reader a greater scope of understanding and heighten their sense of awareness towards each story.

Reviewed by Ksenia, Grade 8, Gayton Library