Dangerous Dilemmas: Patrick Wigglesworth’s Bizarre Bible Adventure, Book 3
By Liz and Jack Hagler (Tyndale Kids, 2024)
Dangerous Dilemmas not only perfectly pegs the daily decisions of preteens and early teenagers, but also defines issues Bible characters face in Psalms through Malachi. Previously, in Over My Head, Book 1 of Patrick Wigglesworth’s Bizarre Bible Adventure, the lad “got yanked into the Bible” as he humorously journeyed and journaled through Genesis to Deuteronomy guided by Moses. In Book 2, Tricky Times, Joshua led the boy from Joshua through Job.
In Book 3, Dangerous Dilemmas, David, Solomon and Daniel pull 11-year-old Patrick from Psalms to Malachi. Liz and Jack Hagler combine Jack’s imaginative melding of fiction and fact with Liz’s engaging black-and-white illustrations to create a hilarious and poignant graphic novel in the form of Patrick’s illustrated journal describing his adventures as a kid and a time traveler.
As the story begins, fifth-grader Patrick serves as student council president when all the presidential candidates who beat him drop out. That means he’s in charge of planning the carnival, barbecue and science camp and leading the morning Pledge of Allegiance although he’s often late. Then, King David tugs him into another biblical tumble.
Sure enough, Patrick becomes one of David’s sheep and makes grass angels as the shepherd snatches him from the enemy. Next, he meets King Solomon, and the two write a promo-rhyme, “Proverbs Are Like Vitamins.” Meanwhile, back at school, Patrick’s mom, little sister and her friends save the newly combined carnival/barbecue complete with a kissing booth.
Not done yet, Patrick trips through Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, sipping fresh pomegranate juice, illustrating a love letter, and morphing carnival kissing into a peck-on-the-cheek.
The real challenge arrives in remembering the names of 16 different prophets who wrote 17 Bible books. The task just about “fries his brain” until he discovers clever lines like “Habakkuk has your back” and “Zesty Zechariah.” Thankfully, “Daniel’s the Name, Veggies Are My Game!” steps up as his new guide. Patrick stops to help plan the sixth-grade science camp he can’t even attend. Fortunately, the science teacher makes an exception. Unfortunately, the fifth-grader has to be the gofer, mopper, bad-news teller and handle tough jobs just like the prophets.
Those camp tasks help Patrick draw often humorous prophet lessons. He writes a super hero story, “My 10-Day Adventure with Daniel Eating Only Veggies.” After reading Joel, the gofer “borrows” a jar of live locusts from the camp storeroom, but he can’t return them because the cook fries them for supper. He follows Jeremiah into the cistern, helps search for Hosea’s missing wife, and better understands Micah when his own clothes are stolen from the shower house. No, the prophets didn’t have it easy, but even Jonah got a do-over, Patrick observes.
Liz and Jack Hagler have added Bible references to help readers dig deeper since Dangerous Dilemmas isn’t a Bible storybook, although it does contain them. Instead, the graphic novel offers engaging ways for young readers to better understand scripture and apply biblical lessons to the dangerous dilemmas of life. As Patrick learns, “If you want wisdom, take a proverb, you’ll feel tip-top. And once you taste these wisdom nuggets, you’ll never want to stop.”Hopefully, Desperate Dilemmas can help girls and boys never want to stop learning about God.
Kathy Robinson Hillman, former president
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