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The Garden, The Curtain and the Cross is one of our enduring bestselling children's storybooks. It takes little people through the Bible’s big story from the garden of Eden to God’s perfect new creation. But just because it’s for kids doesn’t mean it’s not theologically rich and biblically faithful—even down to the smallest detail in the illustrations.
Here are a few hidden details you can spot as you read The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross—and perhaps take time to talk to your children about as you read.
What’s that playing in the Garden of Eden? A herd of quagga, of course—a subspecies of zebra once found in South Africa, but hunted to extinction in the 19th century.
Precious stones beneath the Garden of Eden reflect the words of Genesis 2 v 12: “The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.”
The serpent tempts the man and woman to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Notice that the serpent has legs—one theory is that God’s curse in Genesis 3 v 14 suggests that the snake had prior to that: “You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.”
Eve is banished from the Garden—notice in the background the discarded fruit and the carcass of the animal God killed to make Adam and Eve’s garments (Genesis 3 v 21).
The trees in the garden of Eden are echoed in the decoration of the temple (1 Kings 6 v 29).
After the fall, “people STILL kept sinning because they didn’t want God to be in charge”. But later, the illustrations show Jesus living a perfect life—he was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4 v 15).
A lamb and the Lamb lock eyes as Jesus visits the temple at Passover time.
A joyful depiction of what it might look like to meet Jesus face to face and hear him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! … Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25 v 21).
Jesus leads his people into the New Creation: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19 v 11).”
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Rachel Jones is the author of A Brief Theology of Periods (Yes, Really), Is This It? and several books in the award-winning Five Things to Pray series, and serves as Vice President (Editorial) at The Good Book Company. She helps teach kids at her church, King's Church Chessington, in Surrey, UK.
