This new picture book about the world’s creation employs unusual, creative illustrations to deliver its story. The tale is told through rhymes of mixed quality. Following the structure of Genesis, the authors sum up each of the seven days with an appropriate, clever adjective. For example, day three is fruitful; day five is noisy. Each day’s illustration creatively incorporates Hebrew text of that day’s creation. Letters that spell out the word “water” form the crests of waves; likewise, the Hebrew word for “star” is arranged in small, bright clusters. A glossary at the volume’s end will help readers unfamiliar with the language to appreciate what an accomplishment this is.
This is a welcome new picture book on a topic that has not had much press lately. Readers ages 4 to 7 will enjoy the story, and the art may even encourage readers to draw Hebrew-based pictures of their own.
Ellen G. Cole, a retired librarian of the Levine Library of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, is a past judge of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and a past chairperson of that committee. She is a co-author of the AJL guide, Excellence in Jewish Children’s Literature. Ellen is the recipient of two major awards for contribution to Judaic Librarianship, the Fanny Goldstein Merit Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries and the Dorothy Schroeder Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California. She is on the board of AJLSC.
