Sasso (God's Paintbrush, 1992, etc.) gives women more presence in the Old Testament by fleshing out fragmentary references to Lilith, Serach, Meroe (later known as Bityah), and the five daughters of Zelophehad. All are seen as courageous and strong minded: When Adam decides that only he will name animals, Lilith angrily moves to another part of Eden and Eve takes her place next to Adam; only Serach has the courage to tell her grandfather Jacob that Joseph is still alive; Bityah defies her father Pharaoh to draw baby Moses from the river; when the ``Daughters of Z'' learn that only men will own farms in the promised land, they steadily petition the chain of authority until God renders a different judgement. Lively dialogue and occasionally modern phrasing—``But You, God, do not play favorites''—give these new midrashim an informal tone, lighter and much more engaging than the sketchy entries in Yona Zeldis McDonough's Eve and Her Sisters: Women of the Old Testament (1994). Andersen's painted portrait figures are done in warm tones against mixed color blue and purple backgrounds enclosed, along with several text pages, in wide, pale frames. (Picture book. 8-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-879045-43-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Jewish Lights
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
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
While Josephine Poole and Angela Barrett’s Joan of Arc (1998) focused on Joan as a saint, this spirited but reverent telling emphasizes Joan as a hero. In the little village of DomrÇmy, Joan did not learn to read or write, but she listened to stories of the saints’ great deeds, worked with her parents, and aided the sick. When St. Michael the Archangel first appeared to her in a great light, she was 13; he told her she would save France, and the people supported her, outfitting her with horse and armor, and a white banner with the golden lilies that symbolized the French king. All the highlights of Joan’s story are elegantly recounted here: her recognition of the king hidden in the crowd, her victory at OrlÇans, Charles’s coronation, her capture, abandonment, trial, and death by burning at the stake. Rayevsky’s drypoint and etching illustrations use the muted colors and sepia backgrounds of old prints; the simple, sinuous line and stylized faces are particularly evocative. His visual trope of a flowerlike flame in the fireplace of Joan’s home is startlingly recreated in the final image of Joan at the stake. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1424-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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