Shaker Home [Hardcover]

Raymond Bial (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1994 | Age Level: 8 and up

Shaker traditions and lifestyle are brought to life through informative text and full-color photographs of authentic homes, furnishings, and handicrafts. The photographs were taken at The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, a community restored to its original pristine condition. "This handsome volume introduces the traditional Shaker way of life in a thoughtful text and well-composed, full-color photographs." -- Booklist, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-8-Mirroring the simplicity and elegance of a Shaker chair, this book captures the spirit of a very special people. It is an eloquent introduction to the history and philosophy of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers. After relating the founding of the sect and discussing the ideals that guided (and still guide) the lives of its members, Bial details both daily living and worship. His enthusiasm for his subject truly shines in his discussion of their workshops and marvelous creations, inventions, and innovations. With one look at the flat broom, clothes pins, oval boxes, furniture, and architecture, readers will fully understand the Shaker belief that, "Anything may be called perfect which perfectly answers the purpose for which it was designed." The author's exquisite full-color photographs, taken at The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, reflect the clean lines of the people's art and architecture as well as the order of their lives. In a varied but clean layout, each of the perfectly composed and focused photographs is framed in a simple, fine black line. A true photo-essay, Shaker Home has neither table of contents nor index. An excellent prelude to Jane Yolen's Simple Gifts (Viking, 1976; o.p.) and Doris Faber's The Perfect Life (Farrar, 1974; o.p.).
Jeanne Marie Clancy, Upper Merion Township Library, King of Prussia, PA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Similar in format to the author-photographer's Amish Home , this handsome volume introduces the traditional Shaker way of life in a thoughtful text and well-composed, full-color photographs. Focusing on the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, the pictures show the buildings, fields, seeds, tools, and furniture of the people who live there. With no one in sight, the beautifully lit photos use the Shakers' surroundings to express the integrity and simplicity of their ways. From the origins of the sect to their beliefs, activities, clothing, inventiveness, skills, and humanity, the text describes the people as they lived, worked, and changed. The sparing use of quotations is particularly effective. On hearing of the prices Shaker furniture commands at auctions, an elderly, modern-day Shaker laments, "I don't want to be remembered as a chair." He also quotes the Shaker dictum "Anything may be called perfect which perfectly answers the purpose for which it was designed." To Bial's credit, he's made a book with as much integrity as his subject. Carolyn Phelan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395640474
• ISBN-13: 978-0395640470
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,914,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raymond Bial (pronounced Beal) is the author and photo-illustrator of more than one hundred critically-acclaimed books for children and adults, including Amish Home, Frontier Home, The Underground Railroad, Where Lincoln Walked, One-Room School, Ghost Towns of the American West, Tenement: Immigrant Life on the Lower East Side, Nauvoo: Mormon City on the Mississippi River, The Super Soybean, and many others. A skilled photographer, he works with ease in both color and in black and white. Working with both film cameras and digital equipment, he is best known for his versatility in portraiture, landscapes, and still lifes, and his sensitivity toward the people, places, and objects portrayed in his images.
The subjects of Raymond's books range from farm life to American social and cultural history. Appealing to young and old alike, his books are ideal choices for parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians to share with children. His most recent photo-essays are Ellis Island: Coming to the Land of Liberty, and Nauvoo: Mormon City on the Mississippi River, published by Houghton-Mifflin, and The Super Soybean, published by Albert Whitman. He has also written three popular collections of mystery fiction for children: The Fresh Grave and Other Ghostly Stories, The Ghost of Honeymoon Creek, and most recently Shadow Island: A Tale of Lake Superior, published by Bluehorse Books. His books have received numerous awards from the American Library Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Children's Book Council, and many other organizations. He lives with his wife, Linda, and children, Sarah and Luke, in Urbana, Illinois. His daughter Anna, who illustrated two of Raymond's books, is a fashion designer in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, but colorful, a nice introduction, May 6, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shaker Home (Hardcover)

This wonderful little book is a very nice introduction to the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, the Shakers. Chockfull of bright, colorful pictures, it gives the young reader a glimpse into everyday Shaker life and worship. As you might expect from such a short book (only 26 pages with any sort of text on them) it is nothing more than an introduction. But, with all of the wonderful pictures, it is a nice introduction for readers of any age.