Silent Night: The Song and Its Story [Hardcover]

Margaret Hodges (Author), Tim Ladwig (Illustrator), Tim Ladwing (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

This beautiful picture book tells how Father Joseph Mohr and church organist Franz Gruber worked up until the last minute on Christmas Eve in 1818 to write a new Christmas song for the villagers of Oberndorf, Austria--a song we know as Silent Night.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3?This account of the beloved carol's history pays tribute to its creators and to the song itself. On Christmas Eve in 1818, in a small Austrian town, Father Mohr's church organ broke down. In compelling prose, Hodges recounts the young priest's struggle to write a poem that would bring the beauty of the Christ Child's humble, but sacred birth night to a congregation that expected to celebrate with music. Franz Gruber, a local schoolmaster, wrote a simple tune to accompany the words. With its creators all but forgotten, "Silent Night" eventually became an international favorite. Hodges includes stories about wartime enemies who forgot their hatred and joined together, sometimes across enemy lines, to share a few verses of the song. Full-page watercolor illustrations capture quaint mountain village scenes. Glowing shades of gold and brown accentuate faces lifted in harmony, creating feelings of warmth, wonder, and contentment. While very different in its approach and artwork from Granfield's treatment of the subject, Hodges's Silent Night is more versatile and is a better bet for library purchase.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The text in this account of how Franz Gruber, the part-time organist, and Father Joseph Mohr, the young priest, happened to compose a charming carol for the parishioners in the Austrian village of Obendorf in 1818 doesn't say that mice got into the organ works; but the crucial illustration shows a small rodent scampering away from the choir. The story of an enduring success is gracefully told. -- New York Times Book Review, December 20, 1998

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080285138X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802851383
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Song that Unites Savage Beasts, December 14, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Silent Night: The Song and Its Story (Hardcover)

See how a univerally-known song, "Silent Night" can stop men from thinking about war. From a song that was scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper inside an old church organ to a melody that stopped gunfire during the Korean War, we see the power of music through this simple holiday carol. Beautifully illustrated, and a wonderful lesson to read aloud.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and informative story to be read every year, December 1, 1997

By 

L. McCormick (Pinellas Park, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silent Night: The Song and Its Story (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful picture book which tells the story of how one of the world's most loved Christmas carols came to be written. The story is sure to loved by children and adults and could easily become part of a family holiday reading tradition.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Notable for illustrations, text and setting, January 5, 2000

By 

Virginia Newman (New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Night: The Song and Its Story (Hardcover)

Beautifully illustrated and simply written, this version of the "Silent Night" story hit home with our family as we are descendants from the little-known, but incredibly beautiful Austrian Tyrol, the setting for the story. A copy is being sent to 80-year old Tyrolean grandparents (in NY) to enjoy!