Good King Wenceslas [Hardcover]

J. M. Neale (Author), Jamichael Henterly (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1988

Rich in color, the expansive art complements the traditional verses of the beloved carol. A musical arrangement is included. A book in the true spirit of Christmas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this rhythmic Christmas ballad, a good king looks out of his castle and sees a poor man gathering fuel. "Yonder peasant, who is he?" he asks his page. The king makes his way through the snow, loaded with gifts, to share his wealth with the poor man. Henterly's majestic illustrations, in opulent colors, convey the difficulties of the peasant's search for fuel as well as the generous measures of the king. The carol's delicate text is left intact, and the melody appears on the end page; some readers may wish that further piano or guitar accompaniment also had been included. All ages.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 6-9. Although not as well conceived as the 1990 version of the carol illustrated by John Wallner, this oversize offering is marked by Manson's very handsome artwork. His woodcuts, done primarily in woodsy browns and midnight blues, are accented by decorative borders and have a real medieval feeling. In keeping with the style of the pictures, the text, in big black letters, has a rough-hewn look, but it is difficult to read, the words occasionally seeming to run together. For those wishing to play the carol, the music is appended, and a final page introduces the real Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (September 29, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525444203
• ISBN-13: 978-0525444206
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,338,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Illustrations in a Good Christmas Book., May 5, 2004

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good King Wenceslas (Hardcover)

"Good King Wenceslas" Illustrated by Christopher Manson
North-South Books.
The Illustrator, Christopher Manson, has gone through a great deal of work to produce a beautiful book of art telling the story of "Good King Wenceslas", as well known by the carol of the same name, written by John Mason Neale in 1853.
The colorful illustrations match the Christmas season, with the front piece and the back piece both being intertwined holly. The book presents the entire carol. Each stanza of the carol faces an illustration portraying the action in the song: for example, at the beginning, the good King is actually looking out a window, with the wind obviously ruffling the pages of a book on a chair. King Wenceslas is presented as young man, with a concerned look on his face as he sees the tattered peasant "...gathering winter fuel." As the Page and the King carry food and pine logs to the peasant's dwelling, the winter cold grows harsher. The King tells the Page to walk in his foot steps, and the Page finds warmth in each foot print. I have always thought of this as an echo of Christ telling St. Peter to leave the boat and walk across the water to Him.
I look forward to my granddaughter, Katlain, using the music at the back of the book to play this carol at Christmas time, while my daughter, her aunt, supports her on the piano. Excellent book! That can become a family heirloom.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ye Who Will Bless the Poor, Shall Yourselves Find Blessing, December 25, 2001

By 

Jedidiah Palosaari "Not My Real Name" (Fes, Morocco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good King Wenceslas (Paperback)

An excellent children's book of one of the greatest carols ever. This carol above all proclaims the social justice of the Gospel; the need to share what we have with others, even in the face of our own adversity, and at the loss of our own pleasure. It's only the more wonderful in that it's based on the story of an actual king, Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech Republic, who worked tirelessly for his five years in office to bring Christianity to his country of Bohemia. With very beautiful illustrations with a Gothic style of writing, the entire carol is included, a verse for each illustration, along with the notes at the end to sing along with. Children of about 30 should enjoy this work as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good King Wencelas by Neale and Ladwig, March 22, 2007

By 

C. Tenbrink - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good King Wenceslas (Hardcover)

Beautiful pictures. Uplifting story. Definitely for Christmas. So glad to have this book in my library of good books.