Review: What was Jesus’ childhood like?

['James Martin', 'More James Martin', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] America Magazine 2025-09-11 00:00:00

Over the past 40 years, I’ve tried to read as much as I can on the topic of the historical Jesus, the study of the life and times of the man known as Jesus of Nazareth. Boy Jesus Growing Up Judean in Turbulent TimesBy Joan TaylorZondervan Academic368p $30Of course, they are one and the same. So I opened Joan Taylor’s Boy Jesus with great anticipation—and I am happy to say I was not let down. (The book’s title may be jarring to American ears; we might have preferred Jesus as a Boy or The Boy Jesus. Boy Jesus focuses on the incidents in the Gospel narratives relating to Jesus’ younger years, from the Annunciation to the finding in the Temple at age 12.