Sphinx at Dawn

Young Yehoshuah demonstrates he is a special child, destined for greatness.

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"Early morning approached the desert. One by one the stars dimmed, went out. At the crack of dawn on the horizon the light widened to a streak of pale yellow, then warmed to a rosy glow that bathed the sands which stretched and shifted sleepily around the great stone figure of the Sphinx. The stone was touched with light, was softened, quickened, enfleshed. The enormous wings stirred; the heavy eyelids rose. The Sphinx stared slowly across the desert floor, fixed her hungry gaze on a small speck on the widening horizon."

Written in lyrical and vivid prose, these two stories about Yehoshuah, his mother and father, and what they encountered during their sojourn in Egypt, examine the meaning of life and death, the value and misuse of gifts, and making choices. Complemented by Vivian Berger's striking wood engravings, this book will appeal to adults and children alike.

—from the back of the paperback

In The Sphinx at Dawn, Madeleine L'Engle's gift for story-telling that delights everyone—from young children to parents and grandparents is fully apparent. These two stories are set in Egypt during the early years of the first century; but they touch on the meaning of life and death, the value and the misuse of gifts, the making of choices, and the goal of living-issues which touch our lives through the lives of the characters in the stories.

The illustrations, striking wood engravings by Vivian Berger, beautifully complement the text.

Madeleine L'Engle, one of America's best-loved writers, has "written stories ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil." She has interspersed her writing career with raising three children, lecturing, and maintaining both a big, old apartment in New York City and a farmhouse in Connecticut which is called "Crosswicks."

Vivian Berger was graduated from The School of Visual Arts and attended The Pratt Graphic Art Center and The New School. She has exhibited at The Artist Guild of New York Shows and in Westchester. Her publications include Art Direction, Print and Graphic Artists Guild Directories.

Wood engraving © 1982 by Vivian Berger

—from the dust jacket