Hello, my name is Acacia and I am a book addict. I aim to have at least three picture book versions of every Bible story in my personal library, although five would be better. As I was browsing Amazon today, I got to pondering the different types of each story I tend to buy. I consider the text of the book, the illustrations of the book, and some nebulous items I can’t fit into a category.
Simplified Story
Here, the author has the removed the difficult vocabulary while leaving the essence of the story. This is popular in children’s stories. Done poorly, the story is stripped of any charm. Properly reducing the language while retaining the cadence of original Biblical tale is a challenging task.
Jesus, by Brian Wildsmith. This is an example of a simplified story done poorly. Shepherds were guarding their sheep when angels appeared in the sky. The angels told them the good news that the Son of God had been born in Bethlehem. Can there be a duller phrasing than this?
My First Story of Christmas, by Tim Dowley. Here it is done right. Simple but straightforward language. Suddenly an angel appeared. The shepherds were scared. “Don’t be afraid!” said the angel. “Tonight a special baby has been born in Bethlehem. He will save his people.” Cute illustrations too.
The Retelling
To do this well, the story should try for an alternate point-of-view, or change the narrative device, or even change the setting. Adding extraneous details is not sufficient. Changing random details is just silly. Inserting explanations will ruin the story faster than you could say “exposition bomb.”
At Break of Day, by Nikki Grimes. I’m not sure what to call this–maybe an alternate pov? This retelling of Genesis 1 has God the Son creating the world at the God the father’s instruction, based on Hebrews 1:1-2. The father called the blazing circle Sun and the pale disc Moon, and the son hung them in the sky to mark the days and the seasons and the years. But on what did he hang them? Only he and his father knew.
The Fox’s Tale, by Nick Butterworth. From the pov of the fox who sleeps by day and hunts by night. All at once the air is filled with shining men! I’m scared. I cannot smell these men. They have no scent. One of them is speaking to the shepherds. “Don’t be afraid,” he says. “We bring good news. Great joy has come to all of you. Today in Bethlehem a baby has been born.”
Adam And Eve And The Garden Of Eden, by Jane Ray. The illustrations are folk art, and the retelling adds just enough details to be interesting. Then with his great hands, God formed the first man out of the clay of the newly watered earth. God breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, so he became a warm, living soul. It’s such a shame that this book depicts the first sin as a good thing–a natural part of growing up. Theologically, this is too major an issue for me to justify buying it.
Mary’s First Christmas, by Walter Wangerin. Narrative device is Mary telling her young son a bedtime story. I wrapped you in strips of clean cloth from your chest to your toes. I laid you in a manger, and you grinned at me, and I laughed for joy, and all the animals watched, and the little birds sang, and Joseph the carpenter, strong and true, brought some water for me and two kisses for you.
This is the Star, by Joyce Dunbar. Narrative device is “This is the house that Jack built.” I’m having a hard time getting past the issue of the Bible not mentioning a donkey, nor that the shepherds saw the star. But I really like the rhythmic rhyme.
This is the donkey with precious load
Trudging the long and weary road,
Looked on by the angel shining bright
Who came to the shepherds watching by night
That saw the star in the sky.
Word-of-God Text
These books have the text from the Bible, and only the text from the Bible. It is usually the KJV or RSV. Finding illustrations for this type of book that aren’t stained-glass or Renaissance inspired is difficult.
Creation, by Gennady Spirin. See? The art is Renaissance inspired. But the text is easy-to-read NIV.
Paradise, by Fiona French. Text is from KJV, and the illustrations look like stained glass.
Let There Be Light, by Pauline Baynes. The artist is best known for illustrating the Chronicles of Narnia. Text is KJV.
The Nativity, by Julie Vivas. The juxtaposition of angels in combat boots and the verbatim KJV text is both startling and refreshing. According to Amazon, people who buy this book also buy books on the liturgical year, Godly Play, and the emerging church.
Stay tuned for Part II: Illustrations and Part III: Other Considerations.
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