The Creation (25th Anniversary Edition)

August 30, 1993
The biblical story of creation is retold here in resonant, inspiring verse set against a jubilant background of bold colors. As an endnote explains, the poem, which originally appeared in Johnson's God's Trombones (1927), was inspired by a sermon delivered in 1919 by a black country preacher in Kansas, and pays tribute to the old-time black preachers who, wrote Johnson, gave slaves and their descendants ``their first sense of unity and solidarity.'' The very solid God of this text ``batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed-- / He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled.'' Commanding verses lilt in the style of a gospel song--a poem of joy, wonder and celebration. Golembe ( Why the Sky Is Far Away ) reflects this sense of thanksgiving in stylized paintings whose flatness recalls folk art. Rainbow-hued fish swim in abundance, animals of all kinds bound and gambol in harmony, God himself is a shimmering red mosaic. Johnson omits the specific creation of woman (``God thought and thought, / Till he thought: I'll make me a man''), but Golembe shows both man and woman as black silhouettes rising from the clay. This unusual picture book is especially successful for its lucid presentation of complex ideas and for its attention to African American cultural traditions. Ages 4-8.

Starred review from May 1, 1994
Gr 1-4-An earlier edition of Johnson's fine poem of the Harlem Renaissance failed to find illustrations to match its excellence (Little, 1993). Ransome, however, has given its verbal artistry powerful visual expression. Double-page spreads of scenes from the Creation-light, earth, water, vegetation, animals, humans-alternate with the poem. Displays of text appear on the right-hand pages, bordered with repeated animal motifs. Opposite them are paintings of a storyteller under a shady tree, giving what is clearly an animated performance to a group of children. The intimacy and relative predictability of these scenes contrast effectively with the splendid movement and spacious surprises of the alternates. The division of the poem into pages is well paced, and there is a satisfying buildup to the last spread, depicting a man the ruddy brown of Georgia clay rising from a flowering meadow. The artist has avoided the pitfall of trying to show God at work, while providing a perfect creative stand-in, the benign storyteller. This book combines the sense of awe and nobility at creation with respect and wonder at human participation. It should make Johnson's poem better known, while showcasing Ransome's impressive talent.-Patricia Dooley, formerly at University of Washington, Seattle