Picture-book author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Jill Weber join forces in this retelling of the biblical story of Esther and how she saved her people from destruction. Chosen by the Persian King Ahasuerus as his queen, Esther remained loyal to her Jewish faith, and to her Uncle Mordicai, interceding with the king when the evil Haman plotted to have all of the Hebrews in the empire killed...

The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale is the second book I have read that is written by Kimmel and illustrated by Weber, following upon their Even Higher!: A Rosh Hashanah Story. In addition, it is the fourth picture-book retelling of the Esther story I have read, after titles like Queen Esther (Tomie dePaola), Esther (Miriam Chaikin and Vera Rosenberry) and Queen Esther the Morning Star (Mordicai Gerstein). I found it pleasant enough, and thought it paired an engaging retelling with colorful, eye-catching artwork. That said, it didn't particularly "wow" me, and I found myself comparing the visuals here to the far more restrained black-and-white artwork in Esther, or the subtler, stylized work in Queen Esther, and came to the conclusion that this retelling is a little too garish for my taste. I have enjoyed Weber's artwork elsewhere, so I think the issue for me here was the color palette. Others may feel differently of course, given the subjective nature of aesthetic sensibility, so I would still recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for retellings of the Esther story. ( )

Summary: This books tells the Purim Story of Queen Esther and how she saved her Jewish people. She marries the king and uses her new power for good. She eliminates the threat of Haman, and saves the people of her kingdom.

Personal reflection: I relate to this personally, and hear the story for the holiday every year.

Class use: Teach students about this Jewish holiday of Purim. Have them dress up and celebrate in the classroom to learn about another culture. ( )