A limpid, heartfelt retelling of Mary Magdalene’s story.
Jesus’ leading female follower gets a starring role in this winsome illustrated children’s book.
Ring, a psychologist, former radio host, and Episcopal priest, recaps Gospel stories that foreground Mary Magdalene’s close relationship with Jesus. The author touches on Jesus’ boyhood, baptism, and recruitment of his 12 male apostles. Ring then introduces Mary when she joins the band of disciples soaking up Jesus’ teachings and distinguishes herself by showing “that she grasped what Jesus meant more than any of the others.” (In particular, she pays close attention when Jesus predicts that antagonistic religious leaders are plotting to kill him.) Later, the author follows a Christian tradition that identifies Mary as the woman who poured expensive oil over Jesus’ head. She is upbraided for the extravagant gesture by disciples who say she should have sold the oil and donated the money to the poor, but Jesus praises her for anointing his body for burial. The story moves on to Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, with Mary prominent among the disciples standing vigil at the cross, escorting Jesus’ body to the tomb, and returning on Easter Sunday to find the tomb empty. Mary then undertakes the mission of informing the apostles of the resurrection, which gives her the status of “the Apostle to the Apostles” in church lore. The book concludes with suggestions to readers that they emulate Mary’s virtue in being a good friend to Jesus in his time of need and cultivate their own relationships with Jesus and others. Ring’s text hews closely to traditional biblical stories, relating them in simple, spare prose that hints at the intense emotions coursing through these miraculous events. (“Feeling fear and joy, the women ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in front of them. Jesus called Mary by name and told her, ‘Go tell the disciples, that I have risen and I will meet them in Galilee.’ ”) The color illustrations by Diamond Media Press Company ably convey action and mood. Turning points in Jesus’ journey like the Passion are shown in wide landscapes of desert plains and distant hills while scenes of Jesus teaching Mary are set more intimately enclosed by rocky grottos and green foliage. Ring’s luminous rendering of this important female Gospel figure will resonate with young Christian girls.
A limpid, heartfelt retelling of Mary Magdalene’s story.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781684866670
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Urlink Print & Media, LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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