Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults

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"And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
--Book of Genesis 1:27

"We are stardust, we are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden"
--Joni Mitchell

God has been bringing up Adam. Meanwhile, He has had the Serpent taking care of and teaching young Eve in a distant part of the Garden. Now, the Serpent has brought Eve to meet her Creator and Adam for the first time. The fun-loving, irresponsible Adam, who is off racing the gazelles or some such thing, has apparently spaced out on God's telling him that Eve was coming this morning, and so they are sitting around chatting and waiting for Adam's return:

" 'I'm glad you like it. It's linen, Eve, a piece of linen cloth.'
" 'How did you make it?' I asked.
" 'Oh, I just waved a finger.' God turned back to the Serpent. 'What a boy,' he said, raising both hands in the air. 'Not very bright, mind you, but that's not important. He's the first, you know, my first try, so he's not perfect. But he's beautiful--you must see him run--and he's a nice boy, kindhearted, and good with his hands. I have had fun with him; you can't imagine.
" 'I can,' said the Serpent, glancing at me. But I was watching God. God who was able to create cloth simply by waving a finger in the air; what power he must have! I shivered.
" 'But it's very tiring,' God went on. 'He takes a long time with his lessons and seems to have trouble remembering names, and he doesn't always pay attention. And for some reason I can't fix him by waving a finger.' The Serpent coughed. God frowned. 'What's the matter with you? You're always coughing. You never did that before.
" 'Just a little dust in my throat,' said the Serpent. 'Go on.'
" 'The boy can't sit still, either. He wiggles his toes and plays with his hair until it drives me crazy.'
" 'Mmph,' said the Serpent thoughtfully.
" 'And his balls,' said God.
" 'What?' said the Serpent.
" 'His balls. He plays with his balls.'
"The Serpent lifted the front of his body into the air. 'What does he do with them.'
" 'He play with them all the time. All the time. Bounces them about!'
"The Serpent raised its head farther and widened its eyes. 'That's quite a trick. How does he do it?'
" 'From hand to hand, back and forth, to and fro, while I'm trying to explain things like the solar system.'
" 'Well,' said the Serpent, blinking. 'He sounds like quite an accomplished and original young man.'
" 'Yes, he's good with his hands,' God repeated. 'Look at this woodwork!' God waved at the porch with its carved columns. 'And he loves to make those balls I told you about. I must admit it's difficult work, with his big hands. But he makes lots of them, small ones, large ones. He weaves reeds together for the cover and stuffs them with bits of wool or seeds. They are wonderful balls, and they bounce very well. He's fascinated by them. I only wish he'd put as much time and interest into learning.'
" 'Oh. Of course,' said the Serpent. It sank into its coils, coughing.
" 'There you go again, said God. 'You should take something for it; try honey. Anyway,' he continued, 'when I ask Adam questions, he acts as if he's never heard the subject before. "What?" he'll say. "A planet? Nine planets? What's a planet?" as if we hadn't been talking and eating and sleeping planets for days.'
" 'It must be very trying for you,' said the Serpent.' "

There certainly is humor in THE GARDEN, a tale of what happened in the Garden of Eden told from Eve's point of view. But there is so much more. The God we meet is loving, but also stubborn, and impatient, and prideful. He has a terrible time dealing with the notion that the creatures He made in his own image have taken on lives of their own.

" 'What are the important things?' I asked. It seemed to me that everything I had learned was important.
"God frowned. 'Eve, you must learn not to interrupt! Serpent, I'm surprised you allow it!'
" 'I find the interruptions are often the most productive moments,' said the Serpent.
"God hunched his shoulders as if he found the idea incomprehensible, and turned back to me. 'Eve, in the next few weeks I will teach you the correct view of the world and the correct view of me. You must learn to appreciate what it means, that I created the world and all the animals and the birds and the fish, all the insects, everything! God waved his hands at the landscape behind us, which Adam and I could not see. A wasp circled around his head, and he waved it away. 'I created you, both of you! Adam and Eve!'
" 'And the linen, I said.' "

Shortly thereafter, God sets off the complex series of events when he orders Adam to force himself upon Eve, making the "first time" horribly traumatic for both Adam and Eve. Furious about God's lack of patience and understanding, the Serpent takes Eve home, insisting that God and Adam stay away from her for six moons. During that time the Serpent and Eve embark upon a series of secret explorations outside the safe confines of the Garden.

" 'What on earth was that?'
" 'We'll call it a tornado,' said the Serpent. 'As far as I know, it's the first that's ever been. It looked over at me carefully. 'You all right?' I nodded. 'We'll sit here a moment while you catch your breath. One advantage of the Garden,' it continued, 'is that we don't have tornadoes.
" 'Did God make it?' I asked.
" 'I don't think so, said the Serpent. 'It must be one of the things that got away from him.'
" 'Got away from him? How do you mean? I thought God can do what he wants. He made the volcano and the thunderstorms.'
" 'Yes, but that was in the beginning, when he was first creating the world. Somehow when they get outside the Garden, the things he's created begin to change. They grow into something different, something he never intended, or even imagined.'
" 'How does he feel about that?' I asked.
" 'I'm not sure he knows yet. He hasn't left the Garden in ages, and I don't think he realizes what's going on. I've only just realized it myself. Drink some water, Eve, and we'll go on; we haven't seen the desert yet.' "

My ninth grader reads everything these days with an overly-critical eye. This was the first thing I've seen her truly passionate about in months. Her copy was passed on to an eighth grade fantasy reader, who devoured 200 pages overnight, and came into class yesterday smiling and exclaiming that, "They're going to have to put that author into the Witness Protection Program."

"i just happen to like apples
and i am not afraid of snakes"
--Ani DiFranco, "Adam and Eve"

THE GARDEN is a both an enchanting story and a powerful, incredibly thought-provoking book. Ms. Aidinoff's characterizations of Adam and Eve will prompt great discussions concerning the roots of "maleness" and "femaleness." It will also instigate debates about parenting styles and about freewill.

THE GARDEN is sure to germinate fields full of thoughtful reader reaction. Be sure to let the sun shine in on this extraordinary story by adding it to your collection.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com