Angels Sweep the Desert Floor: Bible Legends About Moses in the Wilderness »

Alexander Koshkin has illustrated several books for Clarion. He lives in Moscow, Russia.

Miriam Chaikin is the prize-winning author of more than 30 books for young readers. She lives in New York City and spends part of each year in Israel.

Rabbis in ancient times believed that the answers to all questions could be found somewhere in the Bible. “Turn it and turn it, for everything is in it,” they said. Each answer the rabbis found became a type of story, a midrash. Miriam Chaikin examines familiar midrashim, or stories from the Old Testament. This collection of eighteen moving and lyrical tales follows Moses and the Israelites as they wander the desert, sate their hunger with manna bread, receive the Ten Commandments, and, ultimately, reach the Holy Land. Glowing paintings capture the majesty of heaven and the grace of angels who watch over the Israelites during their difficult journey. Biblical notes, bibliography.

Judy Chernak - Children's Literature

If you had to wander in the desert, wouldn't it be comforting to believe that special angels sweep the desert's sandy floor each night, leaving it pristinely beautiful as you awake? And that baker angels spend their nights preparing manna, the miraculous food that tastes like whatever you crave at the moment, for you to gather effortlessly in the morning? And that the well of water, Miriam's Well, would always travel with you to nourish and sustain you as she did her younger brother Moses, the leader of the Children of Israel? Chaikin has woven legend with her own extensive imagination and knowledge into the most beautiful of books. Her introduction explaining the background of beliefs in angels and of Midrash, the weaving of tales to fill in the blanks and questions raised but unexplained in the Bible, should be read aloud as the first story to even the youngest children. Each subsequent short chapter stands on its own, magical and comforting, as it explores the relationships between Moses, Aaron, Miriam, the Israelites, the angels and God. Koshkin, who works from Russia, creates light-drenched paintings of force, quietude, drama, and peace. Make the angels part of your family by sharing these wonderful stories with your children. 2002, Clarion,