The Lord is My Shepherd
Grade 3 Up—Spirin has applied his unique artistic vision to the venerated Old Testament psalm. He isolates harmonious images from his elegant portrait of an ornately robed and turbaned dignitary, which appears at the back of the book, to illuminate each line. The harp-playing man occupies a gold and ivory temple surrounded by a sapphire sea, a sumptuous feast spread out at his feet. Other figures, including farmers reaping a field of hay and a cavalry of armored soldiers, populate the perimeter of the canvas. The imaginative and dreamlike scene features a multitude of birds, flowers, animals, soaring spires, and angels all painted in rich jewel tones. The text is presented one line at a time in a large, clear font on an image of an ornate scroll, and each accompanying illustration is framed in gold. The opening lines, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want," are paired with a tranquil scene of the white-robed shepherd watching over his flock while a young boy plays a wooden flute and a majestic lion lies peacefully among the sheep. The entire psalm appears on the last page, along with a fold-out reproduction of Spirin's distinctive oil painting. This sophisticated interpretation of the psalm has an ethereal, fairy-tale quality, contrasting with Barry Moser'sPsalm 23(Zonderkidz, 2008). Moser illustrates the sacred lines with shimmering watercolors of a cheerful Antiguan boy tending his flock in idyllic Caribbean landscapes. While Moser's paintings may appeal more to younger children, older readers will treasure Spirin's exquisite interpretation and enjoy locating the individual illustrations in the larger work of art.—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.