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A long time ago, "about the time that time began," God decided to create a beautiful garden. He succeeded, as described by author Elder, in this imaginative look at the first chapter of the Holy Bible. But at the outset, God did not realize how many different necessities would arise. Yet by the end of the sixth day, he had an entire universe, a new way of communicating his love, and the chance to rest for a day and enjoy the results of his labors.
The universe was the first need since God wanted something that would hold all that he envisioned. Then the garden would need a shape, so he settled on a round ball. But what sort of ball should it be? Should it be hard, soft, wet, or dry? So many details had to be explored. He decided on a ball with firm rock at its core and dirt on top for planting. He named the ball a "planet" since he was going to "plant it." This was the first of many examples of God's clever wordplay as he continued with his production. The garden would need air around it under a protective dome, "so high" that God called it "sky." Recognizing that he would need a place from which to observe the garden, he created "heaven." Moving sections of earth and water around the ball's surface was the next task. Then came time for a covering of vegetation, including the beauty of flowers. On the fourth day, God realized his garden needed light, and so he invented a ball of fire named the "sun" because his son was the brightest thing in his life. The fire would remind him of that love. Then followed a complicated scheme to separate the day from the night so that the plants had time to rest. There would be gentle moon glow and the constant oversight of "scattered twinklers and radiating sparklers"—shortened by God to "stars."
Elder's artfully conceived tale, illuminated by gentle pictures on each page by artist Grace Lackey, covers the entire creation story, ending with man, woman, and humankind surrounded by all the animals and plants and natural phenomena that comprise earth as we know it. Elder is a Sunday school teacher whose connection with that work evoked his wish to teach youngsters more about the earth's seven-day conception as biblically written. This brought him to contemplate, over time, the possibilities inherent in the story. The result is a dynamic, metaphorical work appropriately styled for a young audience. It allows God to seem almost human as he would have "some challenging decisions to make," just as we all do at times. Yet it is also plain to Elder's readership that God is greater than a human since he can call universal phenomena into immediate being merely by wishing them so. The story, which can be read by older children and would also make an enthralling "read-to" for younger ones, aims to bestow a better understanding of the Genesis creation scenario and invoke further ideas from fertile, youthful minds.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review