Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The creation story has been told many times for children, but Rylant's version presents its wonder in the simplest of ways. The spare text is faithful to the biblical account of those first seven days, but it takes Genesis' words and distills them to their purest forms, not only making the text suitable for a young audience but also showing children the clarity and precision with which God worked. The narrative also highlights images not easily recalled from the original text. Does the biblical passage really call out whales by name as one of God's creations? It does, and the two-page spread that shows an arc of gray sitting upon the water bears witness to that fact. Rylant, who has occasionally done her own illustrations in the past, offers artwork that is as bold as it is spare. Thick brush strokes turn into arresting skies, seas, and sand; layers of acrylic paint form unique colors that are perhaps yet to be named: colorful dots on smudges of green become fruit trees; and a long, thin line, squiggling along the sand is a snake. As with the best stories, this allows room for readers to add to its creation with their own thoughts and imaginations.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rylant's illustrations for a simplified version of the Genesis creation story, adapted from the King James Bible, recall those from her Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven-wet, thickly painted acrylics in which childlike forms appear against milky backgrounds. A featureless expanse of gray becomes yellow with the turn of a page as God says, "Let there be light." God creates pale green grass and fruit trees daubed with bright color. When God makes man and woman, Rylant paints them as ash-gray figures standing apart from one another in a field, facing away from viewers and bathed in greenish light. In the penultimate spread, a friendly zebra gazes at a stand of trees bearing red and pink fruit. "He looked at everything he had created and made, and behold, it was very good." It is the first image in which the created things are shown relating to one another, and the first in which warm feeling is expressed. The predominant impression is one of strange wondrousness as the world comes into being. All ages. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-The content is exactly what the title implies. This is a picture book version of the creation story as told in Genesis. It has minimal text taken from the King James Bible. It begins with God separating the light and darkness and ends with the seventh day of rest. There is no additional text or information. Each simple, childlike acrylic painting corresponds directly to the text, but this version does not stand out in an already crowded field of excellent options. VERDICT A pleasing addition for fans of Rylant and church libraries looking for multiple versions of Bible tales.-Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Rylant relates the creation story, adapted from the book of Genesis in the King James Bible, with utmost simplicity. "God created every living creature that moved: the beasts / the birds / and the creeping things." Her acrylic-painted spreads with saturated, rich colors and stunning textured brush strokes enhance the quiet pacing as the biblical story unfolds to its familiar conclusion. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
