Adam und Eva und das Paradies

by Jane E. Ray

At the very beginning of the world the earth was a dry and dusty place, where nothing could live and nothing could grow. So God made a mist which watered the ground all over. Then with his great hands, he formed the first man out of the clay of the newly watered earth. Jane Ray's beautiful version of the familiar story takes into account creation myths the world over. The story of Adam and Eve is powerful because it is the story of all children growing up and going out into the world. It also reminds readers of all ages of the need to live in harmony with the earth.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born in London, Jane studied art and design at Middlesex University. Her main study was ceramics and she didn't start to illustrate until she left college. Her first published work was a series of greetings cards for Roger la Borde, followed by some book jackets, and eventually black and white illustrations for a poetry anthology with Orchard Books.

Reviews

[Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read too much like a mythological account with many assumptions (some of them blatantly incorrect) made from the text (noticeable on the first line where it stated "At the very beginning of the world the earth was a dry and dusty place" whilst the bible says it was actually covered with water) and void of the true message of the biblical account of Adam and Eve - that they had sinned and were in need of a saviour. The depiction of Adam and Eve as different skin colours, yet alone anything but middle brown was different but genetically unlikely. I also found the imagery of the couple adorned with floral wreaths and henna style markings a bit too hippy and the playing of flutes unlikely as the bible stated the first musician was Jubal (Genesis 4:19).

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 3 stars are for Jane Ray's lovely illustrations; no stars for the misleading text. This book says that God forbid Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil AND the Tree of Life. Not so. He only forbad them from eating the fruit of the first tree, not of the second one. This book states that while Adam was in the garden, God made all the creatures. Not so. On Day 5 of creation week, God made all the swimming and flying creatures. On Day 6 of creation week, God made all of the land animals--wild and domestic--before he made Adam and Eve. After the fall of Adam and Eve, when God is ennumerating the consequences, this book leaves out the Messianic prophecy: that Eve's offspring would bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent's offspring would bruise the heel of Eve's offspring. If the author had made a closer reading of the Book of Genesis, then she would have gotten the details right.

[Isobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Ray’s adaption of the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden should be recommended because it teaches children about the importance of listening to people and not disobeying others because something might happen to them. the Illustrations of the days of creation help children may learn how animals and humans are made and what they were expected to do. The Illustrations of Adam and Eve were enjoyable for learning about the how of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden were formed. I enjoyed the book because I thought the illustrations helped children to realise how important the biblical story are.

[Geo Hendrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures were the best.
Story not accurate to the Bible

[Cariegreer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book in text, as well as illustrations. It tells the story of creation and how God formed the first man out of clay. This man was Adam, which means “earth.” He lived in the Garden of Eden, but he was not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Life. Adam grew lonely so God made a woman named Eve for Adam. Eve means “mother of all things.” They were tempted by the serpent and ate from the Tree of Knowledge; this made God angry as they were now mortal so he banned from the Garden of Eden and sent them out into the real world. Even though God was angry, he still loved Adam and Eve. There are lessons in this; obey rules or suffer the consequences. The colors in the illustrations are subtle greens, blues, browns, oranges, and pinks. The borders of the pages add additional elements to the illustrations and are eye-catching. This is a very nice book to read.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent pictures, very faithful to scriptural narrative