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Bartholomew's Passage: A Family Story for Advent (Storybooks for Advent) Paperback – August 25, 2009
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Bartholomew's Passage is an engaging story that guides families through the Advent season. Young Bartholomew's adventures start when Roman soldiers destroy his village and disperse his family, continue through his enslavement to a tyrannical master and his escape with his new friend Nathan, and end with a reunion with his family in Bethlehem. Along the way Bartholomew makes a new friend, a young boy named Jotham!
- Print length176 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions8.5 x 0.32 x 9.25 inches
- PublisherKregel Publications
- Publication dateAugust 25, 2009
- ISBN-100825441730
- ISBN-13978-0825441738
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From the Publisher

The highly anticipated follow-up to Jotham's Journey!

Arnold Ytreeide
Arnold Ytreeide is a gifted storyteller who cares deeply about spiritual growth in families. He and his wife live near Boise, Idaho, where he is the proud father of two and grandfather of five.
Bartholomew's Passage
A Family Story for Advent
What will happen to Bartholomew when Roman soldiers ransack his village?
Offering readings for each day of the Advent season, Bartholomew’s Passage is a family story and devotional that gives you the opportunity to create a seasonal tradition of storytelling in your home as it helps you and your family prepare for the miracle of Christmas.
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Jotham's Journey
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Batholomew's Passage
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Tabitha's Travels
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Ishtar's Odyssey
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Amon's Adventure
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Customer Reviews |
4.8 out of 5 stars 1,039
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4.8 out of 5 stars 415
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4.8 out of 5 stars 448
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4.9 out of 5 stars 448
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4.8 out of 5 stars 456
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Price | $10.89$10.89 | $10.99$10.99 | $12.95$12.95 | $11.93$11.93 | $10.89$10.89 |
A Family Story for Advent | A Family Story for Advent | A Family Story for Advent | A Family Story for Advent | A Family Story for Easter |
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
What will happen to Bartholomew when Roman soldiers ransack his village? Watch young Bartholomew as he travels across Israel in search of his family. Follow him through slavery and join him on his adventurous escape. Then help him celebrate a glorious reunion in Bethlehem-just in time for our Savior's birth.
Offering readings for each day of the Advent season, Bartholomew's Passage is a family story and devotional that gives you the opportunity to create a seasonal tradition of storytelling in your home as it helps you and your family prepare for the miracle of Christmas.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Kregel Publications (August 25, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0825441730
- ISBN-13 : 978-0825441738
- Reading age : 6 - 12 years, from customers
- Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.32 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #111,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #41 in Children's Christian Historical Fiction
- #58 in Christmas (Books)
- #321 in Children's Christmas Books (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Arnold Ytreeide is the author of numerous books that have sold over 400,000 copies worldwide. A storyteller in many mediums including stage, screen and print, and a university professor of film, he holds degrees in Criminal Justice, Theology, Communication, and a PhD in Media Philosophy. He lived the first half of his life in the Seattle area, but now writes from Idaho because “that’s where I met my wife Elsie Jo and we raised our two kids.” Together they have five grandchildren, and enough life experience between them to “appreciate the value of every person we meet, and the quiet moments of life.”
Customer reviews
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- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star4 star91%6%3%0%0%6%
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- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star1 star91%6%3%0%0%0%
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers enjoy the engaging stories in this series. They find the books well-researched and enjoyable for families of all ages. The stories are thought-provoking and bring up tough questions for readers to consider. Readers praise the author as a gifted storyteller who skillfully prompts personal application. The book's pacing is described as perfect and intertwined with Jotham's Journey, another book by the same author.
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Customers enjoy the engaging stories in this Advent book series. They find the stories well-researched and enjoyable to read each night. The story is described as a true delight for all ages, with adventure and heart-stopping moments. While some readers find the story intense, others say it's suitable for 7 years and older.
"...The author is a master storyteller, leaving you in suspense after every chapter, and helping you to prepare the right heart fit Christmas...." Read more
"...Like the other 3, the story is engaging, insightful, and a true delight...." Read more
"We really enjoyed reading this for Advent. We had just completed a homeschool study of ancient Rome so it was the perfect segue...." Read more
"Bartholomew's passage was exciting and a "don't put down" story for ANY AGE! I absolutely LOVED Jotham's Journey, and this is almost a sequel...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's family bonding. They find it engaging for families of all ages, with stories about adventure and biblical truth. The book brings kids and families together for joyful anticipation and opens up great family discussions. It is interesting to both boys and girls.
"...It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions!..." Read more
"This series of books is the greatest Advent adventure for families to experience together. I highly recommend them!" Read more
"...Good for all ages. My 18 year old down to my 1 year old all love our nightly reads of these series before Christmas. It’s one of our best traditions!..." Read more
"...enjoyed reading this book as a family- it's another fun perspective of the Christmas story- just like the rest of the series...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and meaningful. It brings up tough questions to ponder and prompts readers to think about personal application. The story teaches them more about Christ Jesus with well-researched details. Readers also appreciate the Scripture references in the book.
"...I think the questions are good to have in the brain, something to ponder afterwards. Very good read for the whole family!" Read more
"...The author ties in characters from bible times and true events into the story. Love love love!!" Read more
"...Our boys (12 & 8) LOVE them and they are so filled with meaning and can be used to look in to Scripture for the true meaning of Christmas and Easter." Read more
"...He seamlessly weaves the facts we know from Scripture with some Traditonal ideas & his fictional imaginings to tell an engaging tale of how the..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book. They find it well-written and engaging. The author is a gifted storyteller who reminds them of Pearl.
"...It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions! The author is a master storyteller, leaving you in suspense after every chapter, and helping you to..." Read more
"...really enjoyed the story parts of this book, which are exciting and well written...." Read more
"...Wonderful creative author." Read more
"Ytreeide is a very talented storyteller who weaves compelling stories in with the narrative of the account of Jesus' birth from the Bible...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's pacing and how it connects with Jotham's Journey. They find the storyline engaging and follow along even though they haven't read it for a week.
"...just completed a homeschool study of ancient Rome so it was the perfect segue...." Read more
"...It goes great with the Jotham's Journey book we read last year. My kids and my husband love it!..." Read more
"...It went very well with Jothams Journey which we read the 2 years before...." Read more
"...They love it and are following along even though it is a week between each section. I love how the three stories intertwine!" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2024My family and I read these books every year. It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions! The author is a master storyteller, leaving you in suspense after every chapter, and helping you to prepare the right heart fit Christmas. We've now gotten our relatives and church hooked on this awesome series, along with his Easter series. I can't express how much I recommend reading this book. You will get hooked!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2024This series of books is the greatest Advent adventure for families to experience together. I highly recommend them!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024This book is the 4th book of this series that we have read during an Advent. Like the other 3, the story is engaging, insightful, and a true delight. While there are some "scary" elements (like when he becomes a slave and almost has his hands cut off), I didn't feel like it was too much for my kids. Even when a character does die, its not overly graphic, and is only there to further the story in a realistic way.
Each chapter has a brief meditation that connects to the reading. I often just read these without stopping to discuss them. I think the questions are good to have in the brain, something to ponder afterwards.
Very good read for the whole family!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023We really enjoyed reading this for Advent. We had just completed a homeschool study of ancient Rome so it was the perfect segue. Until now I didn't fully grasp that Israel was ruled by Rome at the time of the birth of Jesus. I'm surprised that there weren't more reviews complaining about the content. I'm fine with it because we study a lot of history, but I think some families might find it disturbing. For example, the boy is taken into slavery and when he accidentally spills something he is ordered to have his hands cut off and he only narrowly escapes. My kids age 11 and 6 tolerated the suspense just fine and didn't seem to be bothered by it. Some of the devotional sections at the end of each chapter were a little annoying, like I just wanted the story to speak for itself, but other times they brought up some really good food for thought.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2022My children absolutely love these series. They beg all day to read the next days chapter and often want to read ahead. These stories are very entertaining and always have a good lesson to learn. Good for all ages. My 18 year old down to my 1 year old all love our nightly reads of these series before Christmas. It’s one of our best traditions! Parts of the story literally gave me goosebumps and made me tear up! The author ties in characters from bible times and true events into the story.
Love love love!!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024Bartholomew's passage was exciting and a "don't put down" story for ANY AGE! I absolutely LOVED Jotham's Journey, and this is almost a sequel. but not quite! It was really moving when Bartholomew's master was going to have both his hands chopped off as a punishment. Thank God that Bartholomew escaped....and SO MUCH MORE!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2024My family loves this advent book series. It does have some more intense moments for littles so you may want to read ahead of time to see what is best for your family. My three year old handled it well as we explained things and it was all happy in the end.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2025We really enjoyed reading this book as a family- it's another fun perspective of the Christmas story- just like the rest of the series. It might be a little scary for children under 5.
Top reviews from other countries
- catholicmommyReviewed in Canada on December 27, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!! These books are so good to read ...
Wonderful!! These books are so good to read as a family during advent.. I highly recommend it! We loved the characters and it was so fun to see a return of the friends we made in the first book in the series. Definitely a keeper!
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2013
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Lovely Advent Story
We have used Jotham's Journey and Tabatha's Travels in previous years as our Advent story but fancied a change this year. This one is every bit as good as the others. There are a few "scary" bits when our heros are in danger but it all ends up happy in the end at the stable as you know it's going to!
I bought the kindle version of this book and it's fine, I know some children's books are a bit lacking on an ordinary kindle (not a Fire) but with all the illustrations being line drawings this was not an issue.
- SiekmansReviewed in Canada on January 7, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic leed up to Christmas
Great stories preparing you for Christmas. We have done 1 if these from the series two years in a row now and it is such a great family time. Stories are well written with exciting twists and amazing intertwining if characters from the bible. Looking forward to another one next advent
- Mum of 5Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Great focus on the promised Messiah
My kids 8 to 15 loved it, and the adults, it is such a captivating story. They were thrilled when they recognised characters from the previous book.
- LenaSReviewed in Canada on July 16, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Great advent tradition
Great book. Would recommend to any Christisn family hoping to add a new tradition in advent.