Hannibal and the King

In this wordy story, the first in a proposed series of ""character-building"" picture books, a young donkey named Hannibal is among the beasts of burden from which a suitable mount for Jesus' ride into Jerusalem will be chosen. Hannibal doubts he is worthy of the job, as he has never been ridden before, so he offers his place in the inspection line to an older camel friend. Hannibal's humble act is rewarded when Jesus' envoy, Peter, selects both Hannibal and Hannibal's mother (who carried Mary to Bethlehem years ago) to accompany Jesus on his special ride. Spongberg's fuzzy ink-and-watercolor paintings feature animals with exaggerated eyes and eyelashes, giving them a perpetually shocked and surprised air, and his use of perspective is problematic (humans and animals often seem to be walking on air); the na ve look of the animal characters suggests an audience younger than that for the protracted text. Children may have difficulty grasping the moral lessons here. Ages 5-10. (May)