“Legend tells us that on the last day of the Creation, in the twilight of the first Sabbath, God made a white ram.” The ram is fated to take the place of the child Isaac, whom his father, Abraham, has been told to sacrifice as a test of his trust in God. But first he must outrun the evil one who wants to keep him from getting to the altar on the sacred mountain where Abraham is taking his son. Mordicai Gerstein’s graceful and dramatic retelling of this biblical story of Abraham and Isaac features dynamic paintings rendered in pen-and-ink, oils, and colored pencil. His images glow with color, energy, and life. The dramatic presentation of the “evil one” may frighten younger children, but the spirit of the small white ram—and the sense of faith that defines his being—is the most powerful visual image, along with the luminous presence of the unseen God. (Ages 6–9)

Made on the sixth day of the Creation, a white ram waits patiently in the Garden of Eden. The other animals leave one by one, but the ram waits and waits until he is needed to fulfill God's will by sacrificing himself to save a boy's life. Full color.