A SNAKE, A FLOOD, A HIDDEN BABY

Almost every picture in this Israeli import looks like a celebration.

The animals on Noah’s Ark could be having a wild rumpus. In fact, all the animals in this collection of Bible stories smile more often than they do in nature. Even when Eve is plucking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, a crowd of beasts gathers around enthusiastically to watch. The darkest scenes in the book tend to be accompanied by moments of joy. The chapter about Joseph climaxes with Joseph presumed dead and his father weeping, but the final paragraph begins: “This is all very important and all very interesting. But what is far more important and interesting is that after many years, Joseph and his brothers met again.” Shalev seems to have selected the six stories for their drama and left out anything that isn’t brisk and entertaining. The story of Noah, for example, omits the raven. But he sometimes adds tiny, enchanting details. His description of the abandoned Tower of Babel says that “the angels would play hide-and-seek in it, and birds built their nests inside.” Luzzati’s illustrations use so many bright colors that even Joseph’s sale into slavery looks faintly joyous, with the merchants, at least, smiling. Both the author and the artist seem to take delight from the simple power of the stories. Most human characters have paper-white skin and rosy cheeks.

This book is less a religious experience than a celebration of storytelling.