The Moses Basket

It is hard to believe that Baynes’ first published illustrations appeared almost sixty years ago. One of our finest and most respected book illustrators, she is perhaps best known for her work on the C S Lewis ‘Narnia’ series. She won the Kate Greenaway Prize as far back as 1968 for her illustrations to A Dictionary of Chivalry (G.Uden, Longman).

Here Baynes teams up with Koralek to create a delightful interpretation of the Moses story. Baynes has had a life-long interest in historical costume and period detail, her research is always meticulous, and her love of Middle-Eastern painting and decorative arts makes her the perfect choice for this production. The artist strikes a sophisticated balance between the western three-dimensional approach and the Eastern schematic traditions in her beautifully designed double-page spreads. As the ever-harrowing narrative unfolds, each page is alive with birds, fishes, flowers and fruits, creating a fecund and operatic backdrop to the new-born baby’s river journey. Production-wise, the chalky gouache paintings might have benefited from printing on a slightly heavier stock of paper and less fiercely laminated cover boards.