Illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop, Animals of the Bible: A Picture Book is exactly what it says: a compilation of several Old and New Testament passages that feature animals, with accompanying illustrations. It was assembled by Helen Dean Fish, who also compiled one of 1938's runner-ups (now called Honor Books), Four and Twenty Blackbirds: Nursery Rhymes of Yesterday Recalled for Children of Today.
Although today there likely would be controversy about giving a national arts award to a book consisting almost solely of biblical verses straight out of the King James, the writer in me appreciates the symbolism of the first Caldecott gold going to a book that opens with the Story of Creation. Granted, there are other versions of this tale from non Judeo-Christian sources that might make wonderful picture books for children and have the same symbolic effect. However, I am not sure that any of them were published in 1937, and although someone could write a dissertation on the cultural or socio-political reasons underlying the biblical focus of this book --and its selection to win the very first Caldecott in 1938 -- that's a bit outside my focus.
About Animals of the Bible
The 66-page book features 27 black and white lithographs by Dorothy P. Lathrop and 40 Bible passages selected by editor Helen Dean Fish. The layout of the book makes it easy for those already familiar with -- or not at all interested in -- the Bible verses to focus on the illustrations.
In her forward to the book, Fish notes that Lathrop painstakingly "studied not only the fauna but the flora of Bible lands and times, and each desert rose, as well as each goat and turtle dove is as true to natural history as is possible to be" (Animals, vi). From what I have read about Lathrop, this level of detail is a hallmark of her art. As her sister, Gertrude, noted:
She has never wanted to draw down to a child, giving him only the crude outlines which are all that he, with his limited experience and skill, is capable of producing . . .She has always felt that a child with his fresh vision sees more detail than we any longer remember to observe . . .The greatest compliment, my sister says, that she ever received was when a child, looking at a drawing of one of these little squirrels, reached out and stroked the picture fur (Horn Book II, p. 20).
Below are two drawings from Animals that capture this sense of detail and texture:
Dorothy Lathrop's Artistry in Animals of the Bible
In terms of mood, another favorite picture of mine is the illustration for "The Story of the Creation of the Animals" on pages 2-3. The expressions on the animals' faces (especially the monkey, antelope, and elephant), their posing, and the arrangement all create a feeling of chaotic exuberance without any sense of fear or anxiety.
My two other "favorite faces" are below. First is "The Palm Sunday Colt," accompanying Mark 11:1-9 on page 59. The sense of awe on the faces of the woman and girl peering through the palms is palpable; the woman almost looks as if she is going to cry. At the same time, Jesus exudes peace, a feeling that actually seems to have completely enveloped the animal carrying him to his fate. The second picture accompanies the story of Peter's denial of Jesus from Luke 22:54-62 on page 63. His expression shows the self-loathing and anguish that he feels upon hearing the rooster crow and realizing that Jesus's prophecy has come true.
My final "favorite" to spotlight is "The Flocks of Christian Shepherds," illustrating Luke 2:8-20, on page 47. Yes, the angel seems to glow on the page (and not just because of the reflection of my desk lamp). Yes, you can almost feel the spongy wool of the sheep's fleece. Yes, the movement of water seems to ripple over the page and you are swept up in the the wonder of the shepherds. All of that is true, but what I especially love about this drawing is the assortment of reactions from the animals. Two sheep on the left are looking up in awe; surrounding them, however, one goat has his eyes half-closed as if he is falling asleep. Another sheep seems to be looking past everything at something in the distance that I suppose is more interesting to it than the heavenly visit. In the forefront, two are looking away without any sense of fear, maybe just wondering why the water is so bright now, and another is drinking without a care for this giant angel come down to Earth.
The whole scene is as whimsical to me as it is wondrous. I can't help but wonder if Lathrop was having as bit of fun here as well, since the picture seems to reflect her tongue-in-cheek description of what it's like to work with animals:
In such an illustrator's studio, what conversation there is is strictly one-sided, except for an occasional squeal of protest from a model prodded too often into the semblance of a position taken spontaneously just once. And on the illustrator's side also it is limited and repetitive to a pitiful degree, consisting almost entirely of such ejaculations and pleas as, "Hold still! Please hold still! Just for one little minute! For a second then! That's it! Oh dear!" Not that such conversation is of the slightest use . . .But animals when they pose, make no bones about their sleepiness. In fact their bones seem to turn to water. Stand them up, and like a child in a tantrum, they don't stay stood up . . . Just now, my model is a baby flying squirrel. Since he has posed from the time he was pink and hairless -- though I hasten to add for the S.P.C.A. that those early poses could only have been measured in seconds -- he ought by now to be an experienced model. But he goes to sleep on the job. And his cradle is, most inconveniently, my left hand! Until deprived of it, I never realized how much I used it while drawing (Horn Book II, pages 8-9).
While I enjoyed this picture from the start, Lathrop's acceptance speech made it even more enjoyable. I just picture her trying to get another "awed" expression from a slightly different sheep, coaxing them with "nibbles of graham crackers and rubbing behind the ears," coming close, and then desperately crying, "Oh dear!" only to eventually resign herself, "Well, that will have to do." After all, she says later in connection with her depiction of the fantastical Leviathan: "[I]f publishers were not always in such a hurry for drawings, and there were no such thing as publication dates, I suppose I night still be sitting, pencil in hand, on the seashore hoping for a glimpse of 'that great serpent of the deep" (Horn Book II, p. 14). Likely, she would still be waiting for that perfect pose as well.
Reflections on Animals of the Bible
I started my tour of this book wondering, as so many others online do, whether it would receive the same accolades today as it did in 1938. I think that it's safe to say that it likely would not, due primarily to the subject matter but maybe also to changing tastes and standards as well. Nevertheless, there is a beauty and personality that Lathrop was able to capture that feels timeless to me, and the more time I spend with it, the more I find myself marrying the words to the pictures and reflecting on how those events from the Bible actually felt. Maybe that's what the members of the selection committee saw as well.
Want to see more about the book and its artist? Check out my other posts:
- Dorothy P. Lathrop, 1938 Caldecott Artist: One with Her Art
- Animals of the Bible: Caldecott & Book Collector Notes
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