OUR FATHER

First published in Germany, this interpretation of the Protestant Lord’s Prayer offers line-by-line commentary on the prayer Jesus taught his followers.

The introduction poses some existential questions about the meaning of life and understanding the concepts of God, Jesus, and prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is introduced in its entirety, and then each phrase is explained in a page of text set in large type with an accompanying full-page illustration. The analysis is poetically phrased in a calm, even soothing tone, using both metaphorical phrases and concrete images to expand and illuminate the phrasing of the classic prayer. The concluding spread offers an alternative version of the prayer in simpler, more contemporary language. Mixed-media illustrations in acrylics and paper collage add another layer of interpretation, showing contemporary children and adults of many ethnic groups. The surrealistic illustrations, reminiscent of the work of Marc Chagall, are filled with dreamlike imagery that relates to the explanatory text, sometimes directly and sometimes in ways that are open to interpretation. In imaginative creations filled with motion, pages float out of a Bible, a girl flies into the sky on horseback, and a boy clings to his own planet surrounded by soaring birds and an ocean of sea creatures. Other illustrations are more realistic, yet there is always an element suggesting the unreal, such as the fish swimming across a grassy hill in the cover illustration.

This appealing interpretation will be useful in Protestant families and church settings as well as in larger library collections.