Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Ishtar and Tammuz
C. J. Moore · 1996
74/100
👍 Worth It
Christina Balit's illustrations alone make this worth lingering over — they bring genuine Near Eastern visual richness to the page in a way that few picture books about ancient mythology achieve. Moore's prose is lyrical and accessible for the target age range. The notable caveat is that the myth is substantially altered from its Babylonian source, making Tammuz Ishtar's son rather than her consort, which matters if you are using this for cultural or religious education.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Involves non-Christian deities (Babylonian mythology); parents cautious about pagan mythology content should be aware · Death of central child figure present. We still scored it 74; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety75
substance68
craft80
originality72
accuracy52
hype60
age-fit78
human-eye80
Penny’s verdict74
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