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Creation
In the spirit of her acclaimed Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven , Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant illustrates the King James Bible creation story in a simple yet powerful folk art style.
Cynthia Rylant takes the familiar text of the creation story, as told in the King James Bible, and lovingly illustrates it in her simple but bold style that has been called “stunning” by School Library Journal . In striking illustrations reminiscent of folk art, Rylant has created a fresh take on a classic story that will appeal to readers of all ages.
Cynthia Rylant takes the familiar text of the creation story, as told in the King James Bible, and lovingly illustrates it in her simple but bold style that has been called “stunning” by School Library Journal . In striking illustrations reminiscent of folk art, Rylant has created a fresh take on a classic story that will appeal to readers of all ages.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published September 20, 2016
1 person is currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Rylant
385 books873 followersCynthia Rylant is an American author, poet, and librarian whose deeply felt books for children and young adults have made her one of the most beloved voices in contemporary literature. Writing across picture books, novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, she has published more than one hundred works, many of them rooted in memory, family, solitude, and the emotional landscapes of ordinary life. Her fiction often draws from her upbringing in West Virginia and reflects the textures of Appalachian life with unusual tenderness and clarity.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 24, 2016
Are there more beautiful words than the story of creation? Could they be more beautifully illustrated than with the simple paintings Rylant made for this book?
November 10, 2018
I especially enjoyed the illustrations.
September 27, 2025
I loved the minimalistic, textured art style and the words taken directly from Scripture.
June 7, 2025
Rylant adapted the text for her book from chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis from the King James version of the Bible. The only thing I found out of place is that she placed the birds as being created on the same day (Day 6) as the land animals. Actually, birds were created on Day 5 along with all the swimming creatures. The simple illustrations were rendered in acrylic paint. This is mostly a good starting point to share with young children about Biblical creation.
September 20, 2016
The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful! The story is nothing new.
May 25, 2017
This is a very simple adaptation of the biblical creation story. The illustrations are lovely--perhaps oversimplified at times, but I'd rather have that than too much, especially for preschool age. Even though the words are simplified too, they are still recognizably King James at times, including words like "void" and "firmament," which young children probably won't understand, but overall the text did a good job sticking to the basics. It's such a beautiful story and this is my favorite picture book so far that seems to respect the story and not try to give it an agenda or make it overly wordy or explanatory. So I enjoyed it too.
October 17, 2017
First sentence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Premise/plot: Rylant gently adapts the KJV translation of Genesis 1 for her picture book, Creation. It is not a verse by verse adaptation. Rylant chooses which words and which verses to include in her adaptation.
The first four verses seem to have made it intact. It's in the fifth verse that she begins to pick her words. She excludes the text, "And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
She resumes her text with verse nine. She abbreviates verse eleven--mentioning grass and fruit but skipping over herbs. She eliminates verses twelve and thirteen. Which reads "and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day." Also she eliminates verses fourteen and fifteen: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so."
She resumes her text with verse sixteen. But it isn't long before she's skipping again. "And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." Genesis 1:18-20.
Her text resumes with PART of verses twenty-one and twenty-two. Her text reads, "And God created the great whales. God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas." The KJV reads: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."
She does eliminate verse twenty-three: And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
She almost combines Genesis 1:21 and 24, 25. Her text reads, "God created every living creature that moved: the beasts, the birds, and the creeping things. And it was good."
Here is where Rylant departs from Scripture--completely. Her text reads, "God then made man and woman and God said to them, Replenish the earth so that everything may multiply and be fruitful. He blessed them, these two who were most like him."
The KJV reads: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
While Rylant has ignored--essentially--every numbered mention of days: first, second, third, fourth, fifth--she does mention the SIXTH day as being the day God finished his work of creation.
Her text ends with God taking a rest from his very good creation. She mentions the resting on the seventh day, but not the BLESSING of the seventh day. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:3.
My thoughts: I liked it. I think the illustrations are wonderful. The drama of the story unfolds well because of her illustrations. Is it the full story of creation? Not exactly. Did she leave out too much? Maybe. Maybe not. What she does leave out does seem significant to me.
I think if she had retold the story using her own words or mainly her own words, there wouldn't be as much of an issue of what she included and what she excluded. I have read dozens of creation stories within bible story book collections, they rarely include every single detail yet the excluded details didn't jump out at me as SUBTRACTIONS.
Premise/plot: Rylant gently adapts the KJV translation of Genesis 1 for her picture book, Creation. It is not a verse by verse adaptation. Rylant chooses which words and which verses to include in her adaptation.
The first four verses seem to have made it intact. It's in the fifth verse that she begins to pick her words. She excludes the text, "And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
She resumes her text with verse nine. She abbreviates verse eleven--mentioning grass and fruit but skipping over herbs. She eliminates verses twelve and thirteen. Which reads "and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day." Also she eliminates verses fourteen and fifteen: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so."
She resumes her text with verse sixteen. But it isn't long before she's skipping again. "And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." Genesis 1:18-20.
Her text resumes with PART of verses twenty-one and twenty-two. Her text reads, "And God created the great whales. God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas." The KJV reads: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."
She does eliminate verse twenty-three: And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
She almost combines Genesis 1:21 and 24, 25. Her text reads, "God created every living creature that moved: the beasts, the birds, and the creeping things. And it was good."
Here is where Rylant departs from Scripture--completely. Her text reads, "God then made man and woman and God said to them, Replenish the earth so that everything may multiply and be fruitful. He blessed them, these two who were most like him."
The KJV reads: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
While Rylant has ignored--essentially--every numbered mention of days: first, second, third, fourth, fifth--she does mention the SIXTH day as being the day God finished his work of creation.
Her text ends with God taking a rest from his very good creation. She mentions the resting on the seventh day, but not the BLESSING of the seventh day. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:3.
My thoughts: I liked it. I think the illustrations are wonderful. The drama of the story unfolds well because of her illustrations. Is it the full story of creation? Not exactly. Did she leave out too much? Maybe. Maybe not. What she does leave out does seem significant to me.
I think if she had retold the story using her own words or mainly her own words, there wouldn't be as much of an issue of what she included and what she excluded. I have read dozens of creation stories within bible story book collections, they rarely include every single detail yet the excluded details didn't jump out at me as SUBTRACTIONS.
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July 7, 2025I'm an atheist, and I don't care for this kind of art, so I can't rate. I can wonder, though, it it weren't Rylant, would it have gotten published?
May 24, 2019
I was surprised to discover that this book is an AR Reading Choice in the public schools. I'm glad because the illustrations alone are spectacular!
A must read for Grandma's and Grandpa's, Aunties and Uncles, Moms and Pops, or any other good reader or storyteller to share with a young person in their lives at bedtime or just because.
A must read for Grandma's and Grandpa's, Aunties and Uncles, Moms and Pops, or any other good reader or storyteller to share with a young person in their lives at bedtime or just because.
October 22, 2016
Surprising and beautiful book starting with actual text of Biblical creation and changing to simple, well written text from first through seventh day of creation. Perfectly expresses both Jewish and Christian belief.
April 29, 2023
This children's book featuring a snippet of the story from Genesis has beautiful paint-like illustrations and short simple text that is easy to keep the attention of your toddler with. I think it lacks a little bit of helpful information, like on which day God created what, though it is listed in order.
It was a nice book to pick up from the library for my 2 year old daughter. I'm considering buying it for our bookshelf for the beautiful art and simplicity of the text.
It was a nice book to pick up from the library for my 2 year old daughter. I'm considering buying it for our bookshelf for the beautiful art and simplicity of the text.
January 11, 2017
My son likes God books so he likes this well enough. The pictures are creative but the story didn't flow properly for a child's book I didn't think. I mean it obviously went with the Creation story and was true to it, but just didn't flow for a kid book.
October 9, 2017
A re-telling of the first Creation story from Genesis -- the first 7 days.
I feel like the illustrations are better for the more abstract days (light, water, etc.) than plants and animals.
Note that only male pronouns are used for God.
I feel like the illustrations are better for the more abstract days (light, water, etc.) than plants and animals.
Note that only male pronouns are used for God.
May 22, 2018
This book is simple. Adapted from The Bible, the verses from Genesis guide the reader. But the simplicity is also beautiful. The brush stroke art is a perfect addition to the text. Vibrant colors. Not a book I would keep in my classroom, but one I would share with friends and family.
May 26, 2019
The combination of one of the two Bible accounts of creation in Genesis is paired with Rylant’s simple and evocative paintings. Thankfully, we get to see up close her brush strokes that underscore the creative act and capacity of a creature.
January 29, 2024
The text is the creation story for Genesis 1. The illustrations are very simple paintings which lead the reader to reflect and fill in the details from one's imagination.
A good addition to picture book collections about the biblical Creation story.
A good addition to picture book collections about the biblical Creation story.
January 28, 2017
I love this book. It is the perfect creation story for little ones, with text adapted from the first two chapters of Genesis in the King James Bible.
March 23, 2017
The basic Bible text from Genesis with simple paintings.
3/22/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
3/22/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
May 18, 2017
Beautiful illustrations!!
June 19, 2017
Beautiful illustrations retell the story of creation.
July 14, 2017
The Creation story, simply told and illustrated.
September 11, 2017
Beautiful artwork!
September 23, 2017
Simple retelling of the Creation story from Genesis.
November 3, 2018
sooo loverly.
June 17, 2020
A beautifully illustrated version of the Genesis story for young children.
January 14, 2022
Excellent—enjoyed this one more than Nativity. The KJV is more selective and works really well with the creation story. Still a fan of the artwork. Whales.
September 27, 2025
It's minimalistic but the power of the art and text speak for themselves.
December 2, 2025
I look forward to reading this with my nieces and nephews and my own kids! I loved the illustrations! Thank you so so dearly Ms. Cynthia !
November 8, 2016
This book is the creation story from Genesis. The illustrations are beautiful, but since I am an atheist, I am not a fan of this story. If you're looking for a stand alone creation story vs. reading from a children's bible, this story is good. The illustrations help simplify the text. It's a nice introduction for Christian children. I won't be reading it with my son, however, since I believe in evolution.
Ages 2-5
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/11/cyb...
Ages 2-5
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/11/cyb...
October 18, 2016
Beautifully illustrated creation story by Cynthia Rylant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews