THE EASTER STORY

Framing his unadorned retelling of the biblical account with his own story about Jesus's donkey, ridden to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and last seen going home with ``one of Jesus' friends'' after the Ascension, Wildsmith relates key events surrounding the crucifixion in some detail; but the glory of this book—even more than its companion, A Christmas Story (1989)—is its illustrations. Once again, Wildsmith's full-bleed paintings burgeon with his signature motifs—the noble towers of Jerusalem tucked among hills fading from emerald to rose; dramatically arranged crowds of delicately suggested figures; blossoms, birds, and other creatures, especially appropriate to this story of rebirth. Gleaming gold is judiciously featured: behind an arch framing Jesus, filling the sky after He rises from the tomb, radiating downward from the cross and, again, from the Ascension. But it's the bright angels overseeing each scene that capture the eye; brilliantly colored, sharply defined, they are of a world more enduring than the events among the evanescent rocks below; the glorious angel poised triumphant above the dying Jesus transcends despair. A richly complex visual feast, masterfully integrated into a reverent, unusual interpretation: Wildsmith at his best. (Picture book. 4-8)