CHILDREN OF THE FULLNESS

Ropp reimagines one of Gnosticism’s most complicated myths in this picture book.

In this simplified adaptation of The Tripartite Tractate from the Nag Hammadi codices, the author introduces young readers to one of the earliest portrayals of Christ, from a creation story long excluded from the New Testament. In the beginning, Father and Son set out to build paradise with the help of angels. The youngest, Logos, eager to create that paradise alone, falls from heaven and fractures into two beings, one remembering the Father and the Son, the other a shadow-self who has forgotten them. The broken paradise left behind becomes the world we know, tended by divine children who gradually forget their purpose (“They started fighting a never-ending war”). Ropp makes the intricate theology vivid and approachable, showing time and again a world that is broken until love returns to it. Elfaza Studio’s illustrations use bold lines and exaggerated expressions to depict a dynamic, approachable cast of angels, animals, and people. The color palette captures Heaven’s warmth, the dark wetness of a fallen paradise, and emotional shifts from love to rage to selfishness. The author makes the complex material accessible, drawing parallels between humanity’s past follies and today’s influencer culture and shallow consumerism. Making such challenging, meditative ideas sit comfortably on a child’s nightstand is an impressive achievement.

A visually appealing Gnostic origin myth sure to engage spiritually curious families.