This tale is a familiar one, with most of the action coming as Moses brings his demands for freedom to the pharaoh. Spirin's enthralling pencil-and-watercolor illustrations give the familiar Exodus story a rich and exotic look. The jacket itself wraps the climactic, panoramic Red Sea escape around the book.

Inside, the adult Moses, resplendent in a cloudlike white robe, borrows grandeur from Michelangelo and sweetness from St. Nick. Egyptian art influences everything from the monumental architecture to the Nile flowers to Pharaoh's chair and golden sandals. Glorious temples, in close detail and distant elevation, displace boring pyramids. The angel in the burning bush sports jeweled, multihued wings. Dramatic changes in scale increase the visual excitement.