From Publishers Weekly
Hutton, who also has retold Jonah and the Great Fish and Noah and the Great Flood, here depicts the prophet's birth and miraculous escape from the pharoah's death decree. Baby Moses is set afloat among the bulrushes of the Nile, where waterfowl, sailing vessels and a hippopotamus pass by. The pharoah's daughter comes to bathe and discovers the infant, whom she pities. She hires Moses's real mother to nurse the baby, and then adopts him as her own. With its spare text and handsome watercolors, the book grants young children access to one of the world's oldest stories; details like chickens in the yard and a homely wooden cradle add a familiar, compelling touch.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3 In this book, as in his earlier treatment of Jonah and the Great Fish (1984) and Noah and the Great Flood (1977, both Atheneum), Hutton doesn't attempt to tell the whole of an epic figure's story but concentrates on one significant episode. Two sentences at the end encapsulate Moses' later life as leader of his people and "man of God." Hutton's magnificent pen and watercolor illustrations suggest both the domestic and the historic dimensions of the tale while delighting the eye with tender greens, vibrant blues and palpable air. In the grand simplicity of Hutton's style, small detailsa clump of irises, a pair of dragonflies, some primitive toystake on a poignant importance, and by varying the scale the artist is equally able to portray the monumental and rather inhuman grandeur of Egyptian culture. The only quibble is that the text is so brief, the pages go by too quickly! Patricia Dooley, formerly at Drexel University, Philadelphia
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
