British author/illustrator team Mary Hoffman and Christina Balit, who also collaborated on Women of Camelot: Queens and Enchantresses at the Court of King Arthur, here turn their attention to the royal figures of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible. In seven stories, various kings and queens who appear in the Old Testament are highlighted, beginning with Pharaoh, who resisted the message from God that Moses brought him, to free the Israelites. Other royal figures to feature here include King David, King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, Queen Jezebel, King Belshazzar, and Queen Esther...

Although the brief stories in Kings and Queens of the Bible were engaging enough, the real draw for me, and the reason I sought out the book, was the artwork of Christina Balit, whom I greatly admire. The visuals here - created using watercolor, gouache, gold ink and pencils - were stunning, with vibrant colors and Balit's trademark elegantly stylized figures. The text itself was well enough, although I sometimes felt the stories were abbreviated in such a way as to cause confusion. In the Esther story, for instance, the narrator mentions the king honoring Mordicai, and then in the next breath says that Haman was killed on the gallows intended for Mordicai. No explanation is given, as to how the king, described just a sentence before as being pleased with Mordicai, had subsequently come so close to hanging him. I was also disappointed that, in the back matter about the Queen of Sheba, Hoffman failed to mention that the Ethiopians have a tradition that she was from their nation, and a sacred text - the Kebre Negast - about their relationship, and about the son, who founded a dynasty in his mother's country. This might be outside the scope of the story Hoffman was telling, but it is interesting information about how a biblical figure is perceived in another culture.

Leaving those issues aside, I would recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for Bible stories, and to fellow fans of Christian Balit's artwork. ( )