Jesus: His Life in Verses from the King James Holy Bible
Grade 4 Up—The pictures in this book belong to one 40-by-49-inch tempera painting in which sequential episodes are shown simultaneously, as in some altarpieces (the proto-Renaissance is evoked, too, by uncertain linear perspective, tiny precise landscapes, and jewel-winged, haloed angels). Shrunken to one page here, the painting exhibits Spirin's meticulous, lapidary style. On subsequent pages, selected portions accompany appropriate King James Bible verses. The artist's style, close up, looks completely different: brushwork is loose, faces are no longer in sharp focus, garments become translucent webs. Some loss of illusion is balanced by a sense of immediacy. Mary has the face of a Russian icon, and Satan is strikingly blue-skinned; otherwise the depictions are traditional. Turning from the young-adult baptized Jesus to the next page's 12-year-old in the Temple is the only a-chronological transition. Key moments include depictions of Cana, Lazarus, the Transfiguration, Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, in Spirin's reverently beautiful treatment of Jesus's life.—Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.