Jenny Koralek

British children's author Jenny Koralek retells the biblical story of Esther in this picture-book, illustrated by Grizelda Holderness. Chosen by the Persian King Ahasuerus as his new bride, Esther hides her Jewish identity at the behest of her cousin and guardian Mordicai. But when her people are threatened with annihilation by the machinations of the evil Haman, she must gather her courage and reveal who she is to her husband...

Queen Esther (published in the United States as The Story of Queen Esther), is the sixth picture-book retelling of the Esther story I have read, following upon the versions produced by Katy Keck Arnsteen, Eric A. Kimmel, Tomie dePaola, Mordicai Gerstein and Miriam Chaikin. It is the second title I have read from Koralek, whose The Cobweb Curtain: A Christmas Story I found rather wanting. Happily, I enjoyed this one more than that other Koralek story, although I was surprised to see that the episode in which Ahasuerus rejects his first wife, Vashti, was not included here. This struck me as an unusual choice, as it is this background - the dismissal of the first wife - that makes the royal court to which Esther comes far more intimidating. I was also a little surprised at the scene in which Esther faints, when she first approaches the king uninvited, as I don't recall this incident in any other telling I have encountered. Leaving those details aside, this was an engaging enough telling, and the accompanying artwork from Holderness had a lovely folk-art feeling to it. I particularly liked her use of stars in Esther's hair, as the name Esther means star in Persian (Hadassah was Esther's Hebrew name). All in all, although not a personal favorite, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for engaging retellings of the Esther story.

Addendum: On a complete side-note, one which has no relevance to this book, I was tickled pink recently to discover that Jenny Koralek's husband, Paul Koralek, was the architect who designed the Berkeley Library at Trinity College Dublin, where I got my masters. Although not a personal favorite, when it comes to architectural aesthetics (I'm no fan of the Brutalist style), I spent many happy hours in that building. An interesting and unexpected connection for me, as a reader!… (meer)