THE STORY OF CREATION

The King James version of Genesis is illustrated with brilliantly colored pictures that reveal each unfolding detail of God's plan and emphasize the divine mystery surrounding the beauty of nature.

PreSchool-Grade 5-- "Creation" may be a mind-stretching concept, but these gorgeously colored, naively proportioned, multiple vignettes make it manageable, as well as beautiful. Even the formless void is depicted, contained by arched, gold-edged framing; but orderliness is matched by profusion, for the artist as well as for God. Folk-art exuberance, sapphire and emerald hues, and decorative detail mark Ray's style and reflect Creation's rich abundance. Curio-box borders offer closeup samples of this bounty: e.g. eggs, feathers, wings, etc. accompanying the creation of "fowl." The brief King James text faithfully replicates "a not "the" story of how the world began," which ends with a honey-colored Eve and a dusky Adam tenderly companionable in a pre-serpent Eden. A celebration of the Genesis tradition that's as rich and lovely as Ray's Noah's Ark (1990) and Story of Christmas (1991, both Dutton). --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In Ray's ( The Story of Christmas ; Noah's Ark ) latest picture book, sumptuous folk-art-inspired illustrations, embellished with glittering splashes of gold paint, help relate the story of the earth's beginnings. The majestic phraseology of the King James Bible provides a spiritually moving, though not overly sectarian text that offers an excellent introduction to creationism. Readers will delightedly pore over the various beasts, fish and fowl here, with fur, fins and feathers rendered elegantly and intricately. Handsomely designed page frames, along with frieze-like borders in tones of blue, red, green and sand add to the visual feast. Ray has once again demonstrated her mastery in treating her subject matter with the utmost reverence while creating a thoroughly accessible and artistically sophisticated work. All ages.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.