Let There Be Light

December 23, 2013
Drawing text from Tutu's 2010 Children of God Storybook Bible, Tillman (On the Night You Were Born) imagines a cosmos called into being by a humanlike entity suffused with lights and clouds. The illustrator's luminous, photorealistic style adds an intriguing edge to Tutu's friendly theology. When he writes that "the first flower opened in all its glory," Tillman zooms in on a daffodil with delicately veined petals and a cup filled with the almost blinding radiance of God; a reference to the creation of "cats and mice" on the sixth day inspires a painting of a lion and white mice that has the physicality of a museum diorama. As is often the case in books of this genre, the appearance of humans is something of a letdown: multicultural children are shown wearing glowing crowns and what appears to be a combination of native dress and Sunday School pageant costumes. Tutu is more original and eloquent: "I will make people, and I'll make them like me so they can enjoy the earth and take care of it." Ages 4â8.

March 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 4-Archbishop Tutu's version of the creation story first appeared in his Children of God Storybook Bible (Zonderkids, 2010). The retelling of the first chapter of Genesis is both accessible and poetic, with the emphasis being on God's love. Tillman, best known for her "You Are Loved" trilogy (Feiwel and Friends), brings her signature style to the digitally rendered illustrations. The colors are bright yet misty, with no sharp edges or lines to be found, resulting in a dream-like atmosphere. Her renderings of wild animals are particularly well executed, and a keen observer will find images hiding in clouds. When people appear, they all wear crowns, a conceit that Tillman employed in The Crown on Your Head (Feiwel & Friends, 2011) that may prove puzzling to those unfamiliar with the earlier work. It's a lovely book, suitable for larger collections where religious material is in high demand.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2013
Abstract washes of light give way to equally lambent peaceable-kingdom scenes to illustrate Tutu's rhapsodic retelling of the Bible creation story. Drawn from his Children of God Storybook Bible (2010), the author's simply phrased text highlights God's love--which "bubbled over when there was nothing else"--as the motivating force behind each day's acts of creation. The indistinct shape of a robed, standing figure can be discerned within the initial burst of radiance and also in later illustrations amid clouds and waves, at the heart of a flower and in the subtly modulated colors of various skies. Along with showers of sparkles in some scenes, Tillman recycles a visual element from her own The Crown on Your Head (2011) by clapping shiny crowns atop the heads of a racially diverse group of smiling children in the final illustrations. Further piling on the sentimentality, she transforms the magnificent, exactly detailed elephants, lions and other animals that pose grandly in earlier pictures to toylike figures at the children's feet. "Isn't it wonderful!" concludes God, clapping his hands. Yes, but here the wonder comes with a generous coating of goo. (Religion/picture book. 6-8)

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February 15, 2014
Preschool-G It is not surprising that in retelling the creation story, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu focuses on the power of light, an essential element in many religions. The text is taken from Tutu's Children of God Storybook Bible (2010), but the illustrations give it a fresh look, with the theme of illumination permeating all of Tillman's photographlike illustrations, from the stunning sun to the fullness of the clouds to even the heart of a flower. When people finally appearchildren herethey are depicted with crowns of light, the kings and queens of creation as well as the keepers of it. There is a softness to Tillman's palette that adds warmth to this inspirational work as it highlights the natural world with realistic portrayals of landscapes, animals, and children. Readers are reminded that God clapped his hands and laughed on the final day before he restedand that they are loved. Tutu and Tillman precede the text with notes to their readers. This has universal appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
The opening chapter of Genesis from Tutu's The Children of God Storybook Bible is here paired with Tillman's digital art, which features twinkling stars and a glowing sun lighting up stiff tableaux. A robed figure shows up in the shadowing on the sun and clouds--could it be Jesus? Tillman's world feels overly manipulated and cloying.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)