THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Wilson (Noah’s Ark, not reviewed, etc.) provides striking, paper-collage illustrations to accompany the familiar words of the Twenty-Third Psalm, using the traditional King James Version as the text. Each double-paged spread incorporates one sentence or phrase from the psalm, often with the text flowing through the illustration. The old-fashioned words stand in sharp contrast to the fresh palette of turquoise and citrus shades and the abstract patterns of the layered paper designs. A tiny cut-out figure in red shirt and white pants is featured in all the spreads, surrounded by the bold, graceful designs that relate symbolically to the text. “Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over,” for example, shows a gigantic red wine goblet with the narrative figure adrift on its overflowing surface, with brilliantly colored streamers spilling out. This tiny single person set against the large expanses of bright colors serves well to illustrate the powerful strength of the famous phrases. Though the expressionistic style of the illustrations will not explain the meaning of the psalm to children unfamiliar with the text, this version will work well as an alternative treatment for those who already know the psalm and will also be of interest to older children (and adults) who can interpret the creative illustrations in their own way. (Nonfiction. 5-10)