Animals of the Bible : a picture book

I liked how this book show general information of the animals and their purpose. The black and white sketches were a refreshing difference. The small scripture reference was nice too. You could choose to use or not.

What a strange little book is the first-ever Caldecott. Fish collected every single mention of animals anywhere in the King James Bible, and then Lathrop illustrated most of them. Strange concept. The illustrations are, in the edition I had, rather faded and poorly reproduced, but still well done.

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The animals are all very rounded and fuzzy and cute – even the Leviathan. Probably a great book to have at Sunday school, but I don’t know as you need to have one at home. The illustrations are black and white, so they could also be used as coloring pages at Sunday school. (pannarrens)

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The Caldecott Medal, named for nineteenth-century English artist Randolph Caldecott, is the premier children's illustration prize in the United States, and was first awarded in 1938. Animals of the Bible, which pairs quotations from the King James Bible, edited and presented by Helen Dean Fish,

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with black and white artwork by Dorothy P. Lathrop, was the first book to win the Caldecott. It is an advanced, text-heavy picture-book, and profiles many of the important animals of both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Gospels, from the serpent who beguiled Eve, and the dove which Noah released from his ark, to the Palm Sunday colt, and the manger animals that were present during the Nativity. Each animal that appears in the biblical passage quoted, is then depicted in the accompanying illustration.

Less of a biblical storybook than a biblical sampling - perhaps it can be considered a young person's reference? - Animals of the Bible is not a title I would have picked up, in the normal course of events. Although interested in the ways in which these stories have been retold for children (I wish I remembered the name of collection I had myself, as a young girl!), as well as in the original text itself, a book which features brief biblical snippets paired with artwork is not really how I would have chosen to approach the subject. Having recently decided to read the entire Caldecott corpus, however (because clearly I don't have enough themed reading projects going already!), I picked it up this past weekend at the library, and discovered (perhaps not so surprisingly) that I was a bit disappointed with the first Caldecott. The quotations were fine, of course - the King James Bible, even when inaccurate as a translation, is quite beautiful - and the artwork was interesting. But being familiar with Lathrop's fairy-tale work - the illustrations she contributed to some of Walter de la Mare's books, for instance - I was not as impressed as I'd hoped to be. I'll have to see if The Fairy Circus, for which Lathrop won a Newbery Honor in 1932, and which I hope to read in the next few weeks for another ongoing project, is any better.

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first Caldecott award, 1938.
black and white illustrations
short stories from the Bible about animals

first caldecott award, 1938.
black and white illustrations
short stories from the Bible about animals

Animals of the Bible edited by Helen Dean Fish, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop

David Ziegler's review
Feb 08, 14

bookshelves: read, animals, Caldecott Medal, picture books,

Animals of the Bible, edited by Helen Dean Fish illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop, features thirty detailed black-and-white

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drawings of favorite stories of the Bible's most extraordinary animals.

Lathrop's detailed drawings are the highlight of this book. The animal illustrations are quite appealing, though many of the human's appear nearly perfect looking. I enjoyed the black and white drawings.

I wish every verse had been illustrated. Animals of the Bible has 24 full page and 3 two page spreads. Among my favorite illustrations were the ravens, the Great Fish, Abraham's Ram, and Peaceable Kingdom.

The book is divided into Old and New Testament sections, with the verses presented in the order they appear in the bible. Since I grew up reading the King James version of the Bible, I was used to the language, which I consider beautiful. Today's children might have to work harder to comprehend this text, so it might work best as read-aloud choice. It could be presented in several readings.

With the appealing illustrations, this winner of the first Caldecott Medal gets a three star rating from me. For read-aloud, Bible, animals, and fans of Dorothy P. Lathrop.

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I am atheist, raised in household that was pragmatic and didn't pay attention to church. I have no problem with the book, and in fact I do think it was worthy of the award because the pictures are gorgeous and do support the intent of the editor, as revealed by the texts she chose. I do have a

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problem in that several of the texts did not get pictures, but oh well.

I also see the B&W art as appropriate to the style of the pictures and the intent of the book. To me, they seem more reverent - colors would be gaudy, showing off... and isn't vanity a sin? Yes, I know colors have been used historically in many many very reverent images - but I agree with Lathrop's choice to let them be subtle.

I did read every word, which was difficult because I don't have the background. Some of the stories I could not figure out, could not make real sense of. But I imagine any child who rec'd this book back then did know more about the stories than I, so I can't fault the book for that.

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This was the very first book to be awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the “most distinguished American picture book for children.”

Dorothy Lathrop’s black and white illustrations are wonderful. It is clear that she has experience drawing animals from real life. From the creation to

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Noah’s Ark, Daniel in the lion’s den, and on to the new testament, the drawings are detailed and life-like. Lathrop also took pains to include accurate depictions of the flora of the area depicted.

So why only one star?

The book was conceived and planned by Helen Dean Fish, who selected the texts used from the King James Bible. In some cases, the animal is but a small mention in the text (Abraham’s Ram or Jonah and the Great Fish). She did nothing to write these as child-friendly stories. I cannot imagine a child sitting still for any of these verses. If I needed a child’s picture book of Bible stories, I’d pick a different book.

That’s really a pity, because Lathrup’s drawings are magnificent. I’d rate the illustrations 5***** - but I still wouldn’t recommend the book.

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