The Glorious Impossible

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Summary: Jesus' life in great frescoes
Review: As an art educator, church librarian, and special lecture person who links art with religion at my church, I can highly recommend this gorgeous book to you. Madeleine L'Engle is one of my favorite writers and she presents the life of Christ in flowing prose. I even picked up a few facts I did not know. The book is illustrated using various panels from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy which adds sumptuousness to its narrative. As a child I was drawn to picture books like this because of their medieval, almost Oriental appearance, so if you wish to influence your children to appreciate a good story well told and illustrated, select this book. The text is on an 9-13 year old level. The "glorious impossible" is something that cannot be explained but only rejoiced in, and I think that sums up God's gift of Jesus to us in a very satisfying way. Enjoy.

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Summary: bought this book for a friend and wished she'd kept it.
Review: As an artist with an Master's degree in painting, I was amazed by the stunning reproductions in this "children's" book, and kept looking at it, and looking at it. The reproductions are so vivid, the text so appropriate, and the book so well designed that I could almost imagine I was walking through the chapel myself. It was the first time I'd seen the frescos in an order the artist intended, which made them even more powerful. Eventually the book went to a friend who admires frescos, but there was such a sense of intimacy in it that I've been searching for another copy for well over a year. The text and the images meld beautifully, and I can honestly say it's the first story of Christ's life I've seen where I felt the illustrations or text didn't "get in the way". Even if you're a fesco fan who's more interested in Giotto than in the story, tear up your check for that expensive art book and buy this first.

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Summary: Very glad to see this is still in print
Review: I bought this as a gift for my niece/goddaughter about 11 years ago and have wished I'd got one for myself ever since. It is simply gorgeous with a very moving text. You don't have to be a committed believer to enjoy this lovely book.