BUT GOD REMEMBERED

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)