Picture Books about the Golem: Acts of Creation Without and Within

Beverly Brodsky McDermott's The Golem: A Jewish Legend (1976) and David Wisniewski's Golem (1996) use dissimilar designs to express similar sensibilities: they celebrate creating the golem, while recognizing him as a projection of evil. Brodsky's inky watercolors have been criticized as too dark for children. Yet, Brodsky purges fear through layout, visual metaphors, and resolution in mystery. Wisniewski's cut-paper illustrations create Jungian shadows, reflecting the evil expressed by the enemies and suppressed by the rabbi. The art of Brodsky and Wisniewski reaches the same conclusion: the created, the creator, and the enemy bear likeness.