The Oldest Bedtime Story Ever (Bible Beautiful)
*Starred Review* There are many books of Bible stories for children, but this handsome, oversize addition is not quite like the others. Morse, both biblical scholar and artist, takes the familiar (and not so familiar) stories, trims them to a few lines or paragraphs, and fills in the blanks with wonderfully original artwork. Working against shiny coal-black backgrounds, he produces collage-style pictures and papercuts to take readers from Genesis through Esther. Everything is minimalist here. The rainbow sign after the Flood is small strips of construction paper; manna from heaven is a flurry of falling toast. Sometimes the subjects do call for more. The 10 plagues, for instance, get a two-page spread but are still writ small—tiny frogs, one locust, and, for the skin boils, a Band-Aid. The Band-Aid is an example of the humor that flows through text and art, but while amusing, the funny parts are often winking at adults more than younger listeners (the intended audience, judging by the title). In fact, this is probably best used as a jumping-off point for Bible stories—or as a place to encourage children to play with art. Happily, the back matter facilitates just that: there is an appendix that directs readers to longer versions of the stories, and the book’s website offers ideas for art projects. An appendix also reveals details about how the art was produced. An ambitious offering, successfully accomplished. Grades K-2. --Ilene Cooper