Willard, like the subject of her A Visit to William Blake's Inn
, pays homage to John Milton's Paradise Lost
. But unlike Blake, whose poem Milton
was a kind of intellectual embellishment to Milton's perspective on Genesis, Willard's aim here is to "invite young readers into the tale" of Paradise Lost
, and she remains faithful to Milton's version of the events, even as she softens his tone. While Milton begins, "Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit/ Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste/ Brought death into the World, and all our woe," Willard opens with a familiar fairytale form: "Long, long ago, before the world was, before minutes ticked and seconds tocked, before beginnings had endings, there was a war in Heaven." Willard, a poet herself, works in prose here, a choice that in some ways removes some of the passion of Milton's writing, but also allows readers to get past his initial fire-and-brimstone tone to the captivating events within. She also preserves the lyrical qualities of Milton's poetry: "on his right/ The radiant image of his glory sat,/ His only son" becomes, in her words, "On his right hand sat his only Son, who was the radiant image of his Father." Like Milton, she emphasizes Christ's presence from the beginning, offering assurance of a larger plan, and the events in Eden being part of a greater whole. God as depicted here is more vulnerable and sympathetic than in last season's The Garden
by Elsie Aidinoff, and the two books together could spark lively discussion. Willard may well achieve her goal of sending readers off in search of Milton's milestone work. Daly's full-color paintings with their primitivist perspectives soften the often violent events, and she creates a visual feast in her landscapes of Eden. Often conceived as triptychs, her graceful images suggest altarpieces. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
