Tower of Babel
Kindergarten-Grade 2—A lighthearted and visually humorous retelling of the Bible story. In this version, the concept of God as a punitive force is discarded; instead the focus is entirely on the people. Their routine lives seem pleasant enough until someone gets bored and ignites a flurry of discussion about the need for something new and unusual to happen. After abandoning a few ideas such as starting a band or searching the Internet ("But the computer hadn't been invented yet"), they decide to construct a tower "that will make us important and powerful!" It is their arrogance that ultimately results in multilingual squabbling. The rhythmical text moves the tale along at an enjoyable pace and creates a sense of fun. Childlike illustrations are painted in flat, bold colors across spreads that contain lots of amusing details, including an adorable white-and-black pup and a green parrot. Multicultural characters take on a comic quality with large round heads, big eyes, triangular bodies, and silly expressions. For collections looking for a fresh version of an old story, this book fits the bill.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.