Joseph

by Brian Wildsmith

The story of Joseph and his coat of many colours is one of the oldest stories in the world. As a young man, Joseph, his father's favourite son, is hated by his brothers who sell him as a slave for twenty pieces of silver. The young man grows up and survives the prisons and slave markets of Ancient Egypt. He rises to fame, becomes a ruler, and then meets his brothers again. This ancient story is brought to life by Brian Wildsmith in this spectacular version, set amid the landscapes of vast deserts and the immense architecture of Ancient Egypt. The popular book is now being published in paperback.

Genres: Picture Books, Christian, Religion, Jewish, Egypt, Childrens, History

40 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

Brian Wildsmith (1930-2016) was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was grey. There wasn't any colour. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."

He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.

He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.

Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."

In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.

Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.

— Source

Reviews

[Karen Witzler]

Beautifully illustrated version of the story of Joseph, as told in Genesis. A companion prequel to Wildsmith's Exodus. I wanted to love this as the volume was so lovely to handle and it would indeed make for a fine story time selection, but the deeply evocative original story seemed to have lost something in Wildsmith's retelling.

[Set]

Wonderful pictures to the biblical story of Joseph, the Dreamer.

[Kristiana]

The illustrations are beautiful.

[What April's Reading]

Always one of my favorite Bible accounts. The illustrations in this book are full of hieroglyphs and color, definitely a lot to look at on each page.

[PJ Wenzel]

Beautifully illustrated and accurate. But sort of lacking the theological umph that would make it richer. Kids would benefit from Jospeh’s perspective: you meant it for evil but God meant it for good. Bummer.

Still, it’s accessible and a nice introduction. Only a 15min read and gets the discussion going. And, as I said, beautifully and imaginatively illustrated.

[Shoshanna]

I feel like this author is trying to give us the Peter Speier experience, but it's only kind of working. This is a very beautifully illustrated and immersive picture book of the story of Joseph. The story telling is good, the images make you feel like you are there, but I kind of also think that they may not be striving for accuracy, more for spectacle.

[Adrian Brown]

Love these illustrations! The text is an accurate adaptation of the Bible story and the illustrations are colorful, lush and beautiful, and really enhance the story. He's done several Bible stories and I love them all.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

This is a good narrative that stays very true to the Biblical account of Joseph.

The illustrations were jaw-dropping for their depth alone. I can't even imagine the time spent crafting all those details in the pictures!

[Krista]

I used this for Living History class. This is a biblically accurate story of the life of Joseph. It was fairly lengthy but all the details included were important. It took about 20 min to get through in class.

[Andrew]

Great artwork. Very well done retelling of the story. No fluff. It's far better than the average "children's bible."

[Dana]

The illustrations enlivened our imaginations on this Biblical story. Well done!!!

[Becker Children]

Well-told story with engaging illustrations. I think part of what I like about these books are the large format, so the art is large enough you almost feel like you're looking at a small painting.

[Amy]

Words reflect the Bible. Images are what make this reading come alive--lots of wonderful Egyptian and Hebrew visuals to take the reader back in time.

[Maggie_Gosia]

Art is beautiful. The story is faithful to the Bible without being graphic.

[Lara]

Follows the Biblical account and I LOVE the illustrations!

[Maggie Rogers]

I really enjoyed reading this children’s book. It had such colorful illustrations and provided a great amount of information that children could think about and ask questions. The text also explains the story in an easy to understand manner. A variety of cultures and perspectives are shown throughout the characters as Joseph moves from place to place in Egypt. The book focuses on Joseph and how his father, Jacob, favors him over his brothers, as evident by his rainbow coat. His brothers become jealous and they sell him as a slave. It is a symbolic story as it represents sins that the Catholic faith classifies as the seven deadly sins. One thing to be aware of is how Potiphar’s wife is explained. It may not always be appropriate for young children. Wildsmith does offer a simple and basic explanation, saying that she “begged him to return her love. But Joseph refused”. I felt that children would be engaged with the great illustrations. They could relate to the story if they have siblings or have ever felt this way.

[Jen]

holds biblically true to the account of Joseph while showing, by illustration, the differences in the cultures Joseph came from and went to. Tent dwelling Israelites are contrasted with brick and mortar, colorful, hieroglyphic filled walls. A great way to give kids a taste of what Joseph experienced.

[Teri]

longish--illustrations are on the dull side--and when Potipher's wife grabs Joseph, she grabs his coat of many colors--not exactly accurate.

[Leia-Catherine]

It had a simple story about Joseph in the Bile, BUT, don't forget the pictures, they were wonderful, great, beautiful, and very detailed. Delightful picture book!

[Sarah]

Beautifully illustrated!

[Sarah]

Beautiful pictures!!

Eli: 1. Abby: 4

[Megan]

CURRICULUM: Veritas
This is in the Veritas 2nd grade curriculum.