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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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