Eve and Her Sisters: Women of the Old Testament

Loudly colored folk-art paintings herald the patience, courage and strength of female figures from the Bible in this collection of brief stories. Beginning with Eve, McDonough retells 14 famous episodes, incorporating passages from the King James Bible. The reader meets Rebecca, who found favor with God through her kindness to a stranger, and the generous Yokhevedok, who floated her infant son down the Nile, where he was found by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised as Moses. Each spread consists of a full-page painting on the left and a bordered page of text on the right. Short biblical verses lead off each of McDonough's interpretations, and spirited colophons opening the various vignettes are a pleasing design element. While Zeldis's vibrant art matches the subject matter in tone, her roughly hewn shapes are not for everyone. McDonough's tales maintain the reverence of the originals and also highlight feminist-seeming issues in a voice accessible to children. Ages 5-up. (Apr.)