From Let There Be Light by Tutu & Tillman
Here are 4 beautiful books that I've
been savoring for some time.
From Creation Song by Scott-Brown
The subject
for the first pair of books is the creation story as interpreted by one of the
world’s leading Christian theologians, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Anna
Scott-Brown, a woman born in Nepal whose words are inspired by her birth
country.
From Let There Be Light by Tutu & Tillman
Both offer renditions of the creation
of our universe that emphasize God’s desire for relationship and loving delight
in the creative process. Also, in both, the illustrations are luminous and
joyful.
From Let There Be Light by Tutu & Tillman
Tutu’s book has the 7-day structure. It
begins with personal letters from Archbishop Tutu and Nancy Tillman and ends
with images of children and the words, “You are loved.”
I’ve featured several
of this illustrator’s other books here at PBT, most recently on 1/11/16.
Different but beautiful as well, Scott-Brown’s
book is more abstract and free-flowing. Here God sings...
and dances the universe
into being!
Of the two, only Scott-Brown’s book
ends with images of Adam and Eve, who are merely referred to as the two beings
who God made in God’s own likeness. There is no story of eating the forbidden fruit.
Both books use masculine pronouns for
God. If you don’t want to use these, try using small Post-it notes with the
word “God” on them where the male pronouns exist and substitute that word.
From Let There Be Light by Tutu & Tillman
Light is emphasized in both books so
consider these when wanting to illuminate that subject and not creation
necessarily.
From Creation Song by Scott-Brown
For either book, I suggest emphasizing God’s creativity and how
our desires to create with ideas or materials might be evidence of God’s image
in us.
From Let There Be Light by Tutu & Tillman
Here at PBT, I’ve also featured another
picture book about creation on 6/9/14. Mr.
and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen by Nancy Wood and Timothy Basil Ering is
a hilarious imagining of how our universe came into being.
Picture Book: Let There Be Light
Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Illustrator: Nancy Tillman
Original Publisher & Date: Zonderkidz,
2013
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4
and up, Pre and up
Formats other than Book: Tablet
Picture Book: Creation Song
Author: Anna Scott-Brown
Illustrator: Elena Gomez
Original Publisher & Date: Lion
Children’s, 2007
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 5
and up, K and up
Formats other than Book: None
at present
The
well-known words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are celebrated in the next pair of
picture books. The text of these picture books is almost identical. I’ll
explain one minor difference below.
However, their illustrations are quite
different so consider your purposes and audience when choosing.
In this first book, the connections between the text and illustration is less obvious, but the images are less violent and more relate-able.
Jude
Daly offers these verses in the context of her native of South Africa. Her
illustrations are simple and rural. "A time to be born" is illustrated above.
You can offer your children a geography
lesson as well as a lesson in scripture.
The entire scripture is found again on
the last page. I recommend this book for younger elementary-aged children.
Picture Book: To Everything There is a Season
Illustrator: Jude Daly
Original Publisher & Date:
Eerdman’s, 2006
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6
and up, 1st and up
Formats other than Book: None
at present
In the second book in this
pairing, the illustrators amazingly render each coupled statements in the style
of a different world culture. For this reason, I suggest an older audience. Here’s
an example:
Above and below you see verse
8 “A time to love, and a time to hate” are offered in the style of stone-cut
art created by Inuit people from The Far North (Siberia to Greenland).
Explain to your audience that these images are original to the illustrators; these are not ancient drawings. Below you see "a time to refrain from embracing" represented in the style of art created in Ethiopia in the 17th - 18th centuries ACE.
This picture book offers
wonderful comparative art history while subtly emphasizes how these ancient verses
have been true across time and cultures. It would be perfect for a homeschool
or private school situation. Below "A time to plant" is represented in the style of a Japanese woodblock print.
Each pair of illustrations is
explained in brief in a list in the back of the book. Be prepared to answer
questions about the illustrations, like the one below illustrating "a time to heal" in the style of art found in pre-conquest Mexico.
The small difference in text referenced above is simply that this book ends with verse 9 “One generation passes away, and another
generation comes: But the Earth abides forever.”
Picture Book: To Everything There is a Season: Verses from
Ecclesiastes.
Illustrators: Leo & Diane Dillon
Original Publisher & Date: The
Blue Sky Press, 1998
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 10
& up, 5th and up
Formats other than Book: None
at present
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