Prolific author and illustrator Demi boldly immerses herself in a wide array of religious and spiritual traditions and from them gleans stories lovingly crafted for children. Hildegard of Bingen and Zen & the Ten Oxherding Pictures are samples of her more than 300 books.
In The Wisdom of Solomon, written for readers ages four to eight, Demi draws from legends and from the texts of four biblical books — Proverbs, I Kings, Ecclesiastes, and The Wisdom of Solomon — to recount many of Solomon's deeds and teachings. She begins with the story of God asking Solomon, "What shall I give you?" and his moving reply, "Give to your servant an understanding heart, that I may discern between good and evil." God not only grants his wish but adds riches and honor as well.
Demi includes a legend about the angel Michael bringing Solomon a ring from God that makes his powers encompass everything, even "the sun and the moon, the wind and the rain, wisdom and the law, demons and angels, plants and animals." She describes him as able to speak with animals and settle their disputes. He could even hear ants, she writes, and one time ordered his soldiers to march in a new direction to avoid treading on an ant colony.
She devotes nearly half of this book to Solomon's teachings, including "to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven," which she illustrates with a mandala of three concentric circles. The center shows a mother cradling a newborn in her arms and a child praying beside a tombstone — entry into life and departure from it. The middle ring illustrates scenes from the Ecclesiastes passage (3: 1-8), and the outer circle depicts zodiacal signs, a nod to Demi's universality and also the scope of Solomon's wisdom.
The depictions of God as a man with flowing white hair and beard who appears in the sky may not be for all readers, but there can be value in having an acquaintance with this model of divinity alongside others. Demi helps restore balance by concluding with Wisdom of Solomon 5:17-20, which describes wisdom as feminine:
The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,
and concern for instruction is the love of her,
and love of her is the keeping of her laws,
and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,
and immortality brings one near to God,
therefore the desire for wisdom brings to the everlasting kingdom.
