With a confident tone and delicately wrought ink-and-watercolor paintings, Wildsmith (Exodus) outlines the life of Mary, mother of Jesus and the "Queen of Heaven and Earth." Young readers will find details both familiar and (likely) new in Wildsmith's concise if sometimes rushed-sounding text, culled from the Gospels, The Golden Legend
by Jacobus de Voragine and the Protevangelium of James. Images of baby Mary taking her first steps and dancing in the temple as a toddler instantly bring a sense of joy and humanness to the fore. From those early days, Wildsmith quickly moves through Mary's various stages of life as daughter, sister, wife, mother and eventually, most holy queen. Fittingly, the author describes the journey to Bethlehem and Jesus' birth, the wedding at Cana where Jesus performs a miracle, and Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection as significant events, but he depicts them with some distance, through Mary's eyes. The paintings, framed in gold paint in the shape of wooden altarpieces, convey Mary's story in an accessible though appropriately reverent format. Judiciously chosen items within the compositions suggest an almost psychedelic sense of pattern and color, keeping the tone informal. All ages. (Feb.)
