Amazon.com Review
"May every creature abound in well-being and peace." (Buddhist)
Around the world and throughout time, people have found words for comfort, strength, rejoicing, and mourning. Prayers, proverbs, poems, songs--every culture has these simple gifts. In this beautiful, oversized volume, Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh and author of many picture books, including The Circle of Days, gathers 77 poems and prayers in this warm, lovely collection. Each of the four sections (For the Day, For the Home, For the Earth, and For the Night) is illustrated by a different contemporary artist. Some two-page spreads consist of just one poem with a big, gorgeous illustration swirling all around. Others fit two, three, or even four proverbs or verses, nestled gracefully among the pictures. The book will make a lovely gift for families that want to embrace spirituality in many forms, from Christian to Papago to Jewish to African to Sioux to Hindu to Celtic, and beyond. Featuring well-known prayers and poems (from the Bible and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass) and less familiar words (from Lao-Tzu and Hildegard of Bingen), this anthology, with its wonderful variety of colorful illustrations, will bring joy and beauty to every home forever and ever. Amen. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
In a foreword to this life-affirming anthology, Lindbergh (Circle of Days) explains that the 77 selections here, gathered from spiritual traditions the world over, "were written in appreciation of nature, to to praise God, or to celebrate good things in our lives" or "when the writer needed strength, comfort or courage." As this personal interpretation of "prayers and praise" would suggest, the entries transcend denomination. Hildegard of Bingen, Albert Schweitzer, Walt Whitman and Lao-Tzu speak; extracts from the Vedas, the Talmud and the Bible share space with Baha'i prayers, Native American poems, Buddhist blessings and Japanese haiku. The range is so broad that some may wish the sources had been amplifiedAattributions like "Santal," "Dinka" and "Kyorai" will raise questions with most readers. The poems are grouped into four sections (Day, Home, Earth and Night), each illustrated by a different artist. It's an effective approach: the variety of illustrative styles underlines the diversity of the entries, and these four artists complement one another exceptionally well. Graham, assigned the Day section, offers fluid watercolor cartoons in a simple style that sets off his use of color; Davenier, given Earth, invigorates her watercolors with motion. In the Home section, Kleven's trademark collages are typically detailed yet harmonious, as inviting as her best work. Perhaps the biggest delight comes from Jeram, who renders Night in a style wholly unlike her Guess How Much I Love You. Her jewel-toned acrylics of animals in nocturnal landscapes have a depth and intensity that close the volume with rare drama. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
