From Publishers Weekly
Snazzy cut- and torn-paper collages set these famous verses from Ecclesiastes ("To everything there is a season") rocking to a jazzy beat. While such eye-popping colors as fire-engine red, lime green and rain-slicker yellow ensure the lines can't possibly be read with the stentorian tones often foisted upon ancient poetry in general and the Bible in particular, Barner's (Dem Bones) images pin the words to concepts children will readily grasp. For "a time to cry, a time to laugh," for example, readers see a solitary monkey perching sadly on the branch of a tree while a frisky crew of his compatriots romps on another bough; and "a time to hold, a time to let go" shows a pair of hands releasing a swarm of fireflies from a jar. A user's guide, complete with focus questions ("What are some ways people can work together to resolve conflicts?") and suggested activities, seems superfluous. This interpretation is neither so dazzling nor so memorable as Leo and Diane Dillon's recent To Everything There Is a Season (Children's Forecasts, July 27), but it will please youngest readers. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-This slightly modernized version of 10 familiar verses from Ecclesiastes splashes across double-page spreads with bold images and brilliant colors. The paper-collage illustrations in richly saturated golds, purples, greens, blues, and reds show large, stylized, decorative flowers, birds, animals, and insects, and panoramic views of the day and night skies. The interpretations are exciting and thoughtful: for "A time to be born, a time to die," the picture shows a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, then huge and triumphant in full-wing spread, then dropping gently to the earth; "A time for war, a time for peace" features a white dove with a glowing blue eye among flames and barbed wire. The multicolored, hand-lettered text sweeps across the pages as part of the overall artistic design. A guide for discussion of the various passages and pictures and suggestions for related art activities are included. Leo and Diane Dillon's To Every Thing There Is a Season (Scholastic, 1998) is more comprehensive in its coverage and totally different in its concept, but the fact that these poignant, universal thoughts can be interpreted in such different ways attests to their profundity and to the creativity of the artists.
Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
