Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

1962 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Daniel belongs to a gang which survives by plundering travelers passing through the hills they call home. The descriptions of the attacks are minimal. Daniel is hit by a Roman soldier. Daniel and a group of friends ambush Romans who are transporting Jewish prisoners. Several are wounded in this skirmish, one is killed and one is taken prisoner. Daniel relates that his father was crucified by the Romans.

Adult Themes: Revenge. Groups seeking change through violence. Roman oppression of Jews in their own land. Daniel’s band attacks a group in order to free a slave. They make comments about his lack of intelligence and “black skin”.

Synopsis

Daniel bar Jamin is a young man aching for the opportunity to help rid Israel of the Romans. In the years since they crucified his father, Daniel has nursed his hatred toward the Romans, preparing and impatiently waiting for the time when the Jews will rise up and drive out their oppressors. This one obsession has taken Daniel from his grandmother and sister and led him to a band of outlaws where he has learned to watch and fight and wait.

When Daniel hears about Jesus of Nazareth, he hopes Jesus is the one who will deliver the Jews from the Romans. Full of curiosity, Daniel goes to hear Jesus preach, but is disappointed when he teaches love instead of hate and vengeance. Daniel wants war, but is drawn again and again to hear Jesus. Finally Daniel is able to accept the events that have shaped his life and to understand that the only thing stronger than hate is love.

The Bronze Bow is, in a word, Incredible. I am amazed that in all my years of reading, I had never read this book until now. The historical background is very thorough and I could really understand where Daniel was coming from in his hatred of the Romans. But then as some of Jesus’s teachings were shared, I hoped and hoped that Daniel would finally see the light. A few Bible stories are either retold or mentioned (The Good Samaritan, Raising Jairus’s daughter and Jesus feeding the 5,000), but Speare has created an entirely new Bible story out of Daniel’s life. Although fictional, the lesson is an eternal one. Love will always win over hate and forgiveness over vengeance. “Only love can bend the bronze bow.”

I listened to this book, but will be buying it ASAP to pass on to my two boys. Highly recommended for ages 9 and up.