SABBATH LION

Yosef (ten) must travel from Algiers to Cairo to claim his family's inheritance. Because his widowed mother knows her devout son will want to keep the Sabbath, she pays the caravan leader all her money, plus her wedding ring, to pause on that day. Still, the treacherous man abandons Yosef in the desert. When Yosef builds a fire and sings the traditional song, ``Come, O Sabbath Queen,'' a lion appears to guard him. Once the is Sabbath over, the lion carries the boy swiftly across the desert, overtaking the now contrite caravan leader, on to Cairo, and then safely home. Gracefully retold, this tale of the rewards of faith is illustrated in a warm, pleasing palette, making good decorative use of details like flowing fabric and wind patterns in the sand. Excellent source note. (Picture book. 5-9)