Huron Carol [Hardcover]

Jean De Brebeuf (Author), Frances Tyrrell (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991

An illustrated edition of the seventeenth-century Canadian Christmas carol that places the Nativity story in a Huron Indian setting.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- In the 1600s, the missionary Father Jean de Brebeuf wrote a carol in the Huron language telling the story of the birth of Christ, set in the Huron world. Given here in an English translation, the language is simple with evocative images, although the poetry does not always flow smoothly. As discussed in an afterword, Tyrrell has tried to make the illustrations authentic in terms of clothing and setting. Done in pen and ink and watercolor and using a limited palette, the main figures are set in an arched insert on each recto, surrounded by a swirling background of angels, stars, or birds. There is a liturgical look to this arrangement. Some people may have a philosophical difficulty with the validity of recasting the religious tradition of one culture into the setting of another. Grand Chief of the Huron nation, Max Gros-Louis, says in the afterword "We are pleased that this book tells a part of our common history," and certainly Father Brebeuf is historically significant as one of the first European missionaries to write in the Huron language. A book that will be of most interest to large eclectic collections. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886192803
• ISBN-13: 978-0886192808
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,066,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Beautiful, October 29, 2000

By 

"reviewer1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Huron Carol (Hardcover)

This is an illustrated version of how the Christian missionaries tried to teach the story of the Nativity to native American Indians (in what is now Eastern Canada, I think). This book is the illustration of a beautiful song, telling of the birth of Jesus, with musical notation in the back so you can also learn and sing the song. The words of the song are given in English, and also an older version of French and of the native Indian language in which the missionaries were working.

It is a beautiful book and has a wonderful peaceful quality, like snow on a winter's morning. Very nice for the Christmas season.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new/old Christmas story, November 28, 1999

By 

Barbara Winslow (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Huron Carol (Hardcover)

In a world where we must be careful how we approach the holidays in our clasroom, I found the Huron Carol to follow curriculum guidelines and enchant the reader as well. The illustrations are mystical and haunting in the blues of winter. The story is old, but we listen with new ears to the lovely tale of a Christmas in the far north. A welcome addition to any classroom.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle entrance into the spirit of Christmas, December 21, 2004

By 

Elsie Rempel (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Huron Carol (Hardcover)

I used this book during Advent with my third grade class in a Christian school in Winnipeg for a decade. We sang the song from the back cover with drumbeats(drumming on thighs and books)in English and Huron while I paged through the pictures as an opener for our Advent worship. They never tired of it. Nor did I. The gentle illustrations that accompany this first Canadian Christmas carol helped build a respect for Huron people, First Nations history, and nurtured a deeper love of Jesus Ahatonia, Jesus our King.
Elsie Rempel.