More pagan-friendly picture books

This is a belated discovery on my part…

A number of years ago Robert Sabuda, best known for highly intricate pop-up books (including the incredibly gorgeous and nature-awareness-enhancing Winter’s Tale – Druid parents particularly will like this one), wrote a regular picture book called Tutankhamen’s Gift. I’ve seen it around in catalogs for a couple of years, but didn’t pay it a lot of attention; I finally got around to checking it out of the library today, and I was very pleasantly surprised.

In short, it’s the (highly abbreviated :) story of Tutankamen’s childhood, Akhenaten’s destruction of the temples, and Tut’s restoration… but the joy is in the telling. The art is wonderful, of course – simple, but highly evocative of the ancient Egyptian style – and the text is completely respectful of the ancient religious perspective.

“Then Tutankhamen heard a soft voice … a voice that he alone could hear. ‘Evil is seen best through the eyes of a child. Only the young can banish it and cause the truth to flower once more.’ …

Tutankhamen, last son of the great pharaoh Amenhotep III, turned to his people and proclaimed, ‘…I shall rebuild the temples and fill them with monuments to the gods so the people will again have faith. I shall lead the people of Egypt through their suffering and tears … this will be my promise to you and my gift to the gods.’”