THE TALL BOOK OF BIBLE STORIES

The great old Biblical stories of interest to boys and girls are here; Creation; Noah's Ark; Abraham and Isaac; Joseph and his brothers; Moses in the bullrushes; David and Goliath; Jonah and the Whale; the story of Esther; episodes from Jesus' life ending with the Resurrection. The language retains Biblical character --somewhat simplified. Not so simple, however, that children under seven might not find it difficult when read aloud. For those above seven hearing it, or reading independently, this is a judicious sampling. The elongated format is illustrated by Ted Chaiko. The colors are bright, almost Oriental in feeling. Profuse use of stylized leaf and flower motifs carry out the Biblical character: they suggest illuminated manuscripts to a degree though the pages are a little ""busy"". Also disturbing is the use of a mixture of styles. While the border designs are stylized, the vignette illustrations are representational and three dimensional. In the narrow confines of the format, this break in character is especially unharmonious. We feel that the book would be more unified artistically had the illustrator chosen either a straight representational or a stylized design approach. It is a little different presentation.