Twenty-six of the best known Old Testament stories—Adam and Eve, Noah, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath, Jonah, Daniel in the lion's den, etc.—skillfully condensed and paraphrased, yet retaining their inherent drama: an impressive example of high- quality bookmaking that is far less wordy and more beautiful than most Bible story collections. Gilbert's 19 full-page, realistic colored pencil drawings are beautifully crafted: a magisterial Moses who parts the waters to expose coral, bones, an octopus, and the ribs of a wrecked ship; a Witch of Endor who echoes Beardsley. The format is enhanced with decorated capitals and page margins, rubrics, running titles, and a handsome typeface. The appealing jacket features the Peaceable Kingdom with a child astride a flower-bedecked lion; a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Save the Children. (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8037-0956-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1992
The most interesting feature of this retelling of a story about a saint martyred in A.D. 270 is the art, a meticulous re- creation of the medium of its subject's period. Using thousands of tiny, rectangular pieces resembling tiles, Sabuda replicates the effect of Roman mosaics. His simple designs and harmonious, gently muted colors are pleasing, and he achieves surprising subtleties of expression, considering the intractability of the medium. Actually, the illustrations work even better from a slight distance (as with a group), so that the demarcations between the tiny pieces are less predominant. The technique, which tends to congeal the action, makes relatively undramatic illustrations; still, it's a fascinating experiment that brings the ancient world to life by paying tribute to its art rather than by picturing it in a modern style. The straightforward narrative centers on Valentine as a physician whose ointment restores the sight of a jailer's blind daughter, long the saint's friend. It's implied that the long-awaited cure takes place at the moment of his offstage death; the story ends with the joy of the child's renewed vision. An unusual and attractive rendition. Historical note. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31762-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1992
This book of seasonal prayers, inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Brother Sun,” and also indebted to Gaelic scholar Alexander Carmichel’s work, can be summed up by a portion of the prayer for November: “Contained in every/season’s end:/the blessing to begin again.” Springtime’s “Sing praise” gives way to summer’s “Rejoice!” and then to harvest time’s “Give Thanks” before winter’s “Be Blest” appears in the encircled prayer that faces each month’s watercolor illustration. The realistic paintings reflect the annual cycle, becoming almost iconographic in the evidence in each of the gifts of the season. These are “God’s good gifts” that in January, for example, are the seeds shaken from dead plants and weeds and the leaf buds on barren branches. The puzzle of the cycle of life springing from death moves on many levels; also appearing in January are predator (fox) and prey (deer). The simple yet sturdy spirituality informing this book will assure its place in both individual and institutional collections that have room for religious titles. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-80546-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
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