Bless the Lord; the 103rd Psalm is first of all a beautiful book. The illustrations reminded me immediately of Tasha Tudor, which is high praise indeed. Then I read in the back of the book that the ilustrator was “homeschooled by her parents and is self-taught in art.” All I can say is Ms. Tudor is more or less retired and needs a worthy successor.

The psalm that Miss Bluedorn illustrates is printed a verse or half-verse at a time, each portion embedded in a full color picture of children and parents in a country setting living out the words of the psalm.. The King James version of the words complements the old-fashioned look of the illustrations. However, don’t confuse old-fashioned with irrelevant. The words of Psalm 103 speak clearly of God’s mercy, His power, His blessings, and my responsibility to praise Him with “all that is within me.” The last few pages of the book are made up of Psalm 103 put to music designed to praise God just as the psalmist commands. The music was written by Harvey Bluedorn, Johanna’s father.

According to the Trivium Pursuit website, this book is the second in a series of illustrated psalms by Miss Bluedorn; the first, which I now need to request as a Christmas present, is The Lord Builds the House: Psalm 127. I received a complimentary copy of Bless the Lord from Mind and Media in return for an honest review of the contents. I can honestly say that this picture book will be a blessing, and an encouragement to bless the Lord, for the whole family.