A Place in the Sun by Jill Rubalcaba
In ancient Egypt, nine-year-old Senmut fashions a statue of a god in hopes to heal his father of a venomous cobra bite. But when Senmut accidentally kills a dove while he makes the idol, he is exiled to desert mines where he isn’t expected to return.
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LJR’s Thoughts for A Place in the Sun
A Place in the Sun is a quick, entertaining read. It’s an intriguing story with a likable character, who you will feel sorry for and cheer for.
Classical Conversations families in Cycle 1, especially those in the Essentials program, may enjoy this as a quick read-aloud. We finished it in less than a week.
For older kids, this book is a quick read. I enjoyed the redemption in the end. You’ll want to have conversations about the religious aspects, and how the religion of the ancient Egyptians affects their treatment of people. A few scenes may be tough for your sensitive kiddos so check out the content considerations below. It will appeal to kids who like quick historical fiction.
This book is extremely difficult to find for sale. You can get it on Kindle for less than $10 (as of the publishing of this post).
Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5
Christian Morals/Values: 1 out of 5
Story: 4 out of 5
Read-Aloud Value: 3 out of 5
Discussion Value: 5 out of 5
Recommended Post: Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Content Considerations for A Place in the Sun
In our usual LJR fashion, we try to find anything that Christian families may want to know about ahead of time to address, skip, or dig deeper into. Take a look at what we found below. Our take on Discipleship Opportunities is at the bottom of the review.
- Positive Behavior: Senmut loves his parents. When his father is bitten by a cobra, he sets out to save his father. Throughout the book, Senmut works to do the right thing even at his own personal cost.
- Negative Behavior: Characters live in ancient Egypt so they worship Egyptian gods.
- Language: None
- Violence/Intense Scenes: A father is attacked by a cobra and a young prince is deathly ill. When Senmut is exiled to the mines, children slaves and dead bodies are mistreated.
- Religion/Spirituality: Multiple Egyptian gods are mentioned and worshipped.
- Racism/Discrimination: None
- Romance/Sexuality: None
- Substance Usage: None
Discipleship Opportunities
- A pervasive theme throughout the book is the worship of other gods. (Exodus 20:1 – 6)
- Without spoiling the book, I’m going to be a bit vague here. The carving of an idol and the healing of a character can easily be misconstrued as the existence of the god. However, this may open up a great discussion about common grace. You may even dig deeper into this idea as though A Place in the Sun is the beginning of a longer journey for Senmut. If you want to explore more, you can ask your children how they think God may use his journey for His glory and possibly even use it to reveal Himself to Senmut.
- Senmut continuously does what he thinks is right despite pressure to do the wrong thing or not to do anything at all. Discuss how this is a great example of Galatians 6:9 and even how Senmut is exemplifying a Biblical principle while not being a Christian (or follower of the one true God since this is in ancient times). You may even want to discuss how universal truths are evidence of the existence of God. Check out J. Warner Wallace’s Cold-Case Christianity for Kids as a great way to dive deeper into apologetics at a child’s level.
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