When the Animals Saved Earth: An Eco-Fable

Lumbard and Demi, who previously collaborated on The Conference of the Birds, team up again to retell a 10th-century Iraqi fable first written in Arabic. After traveling to 14th-century Europe, where it was translated into Hebrew and Latin, the fable remained popular in Jewish communities until the early 20th century, Lumbard explains in an author’s note. In this rendering, animals “winged and webbed, hoofed and horned, mighty and meek” live peacefully together in an island community. The arrival of humans aboard an ark—suggestive of the biblical one—changes everything. Humans assault the Earth and enslave the animals until a boy named Adam calls for help from the Spirit King, Bersaf. Endowed with angelic wings and bearing a shining staff, Bersaf teaches humans to become compassionate by bearing the pain the animals feel. In the end, harmony is restored and healing begins. As usual, Demi shines in her richly detailed portrayal of animals. The polarized portrayal of humans as bad and animals as good could raise questions about human intentions toward the Earth, though that nuance may be lost on youngest readers. Ages 5–up. (Apr.)■