Cry of the Benu Bird

Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino

From Egyptian mythology, this is an involved tale of how the many gods and goddesses evolved at the beginning of creation. The Benu Bird, legend has it, let out an awesome cry to mark the commencement of time. The story is carried by imaginative illustrations, overlarge and swimming in the soft pastels.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-The glowing Benu Bird arises from the timeless waters of the Nun, a "sleeping ocean...surrounded by Chaos," starting time and chasing away darkness. Another being, Atum, emerges, and from his breath two children are born: Shu, "life," and Tefnut, "order." Land is created, mountains rise up, rivers and lakes form, and Shu and Tefnut give birth to Geb, the Earth, and Nut, the sky. Geb and Nut's first child is the sun, Re, followed by the moon, stars, and planets. On one of the mountains, Atum and his offspring build the city of Heliopolis, and he makes many gods and goddesses to thwart Chaos. From his tears, he creates humans to take care of these gods and animals and plants by calling out their names. In time, he meets with the son of the Benu Bird, bringing the story full circle and emphasizing the bird's importance as an eternal protector of the light. Greger has provided an excellent source note and includes information about pronunciation of names. Her beautifully luminous watercolors make use of aspects of ancient Egyptian temple art without appearing stiff. The vibrant pages depict abstract concepts successfully through stylized design and recurring graphic elements, such as waves of water or light rays. An entertaining addition to the much-loved topic of ancient Egyptian mythology.-Jennifer Fleming, Boston Public Library

Janice del Negro

In the darkness of Chaos, the sleeping ocean Nun awakes. A glowing bird bursts from Nun's waters, and Chaos flees. Nun names the bird Benu, "which means Brilliant Rising." In a series of complex, framed watercolors, Greger then depicts the birth of the boy Atum, his legacy, and his relationship to the strange, glowing bird that fights back the darkness. Drawing on a variety of sources, including the basic Egyptian Heliopolitan creation myth, Greger has shaped a cohesive and powerful telling. Her paintings, heavy with golds and blues, have the texture of metalwork, their strong curves and stylized geometric figures lending uncanny reality to the Egyptian divinities depicted.