All Things Bright and Beautiful [Hardcover]

Cecil Frances Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Written in 1848, this beloved hymn celebrating the wonders of Creation is given new life in Anna Vojtech's glowing interpretation. Lushly detailed paintings follow two children and their frisky pup through a bucolic landscape of meadows, hills, rivers, streams, and woods. Throughout the seasons, the youngsters explore and enjoy the wealth of treasures to be found -- things bright and beautiful, great and small, wise and wonderful, the glory of it all.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–While there are other lovely illustrated versions of this 19th-century song, Vojtech's glorious edition is a worthy choice. The familiar words are brought to life in spreads that include two pictures, one framed inside the other. The outer picture is less a border than an enhancement of the inner image. For example, the first pages show a girl and a boy looking out over a field filled with a variety of animals, and close-ups of the creatures are scattered around the outer frame. For "All things wise and wonderful,/the Lord God made them all," the larger painting shows a family of swans swimming in a pond where frogs gamble and large dragonflies flit about. The outer image flows beyond the water to the woods and sky nearby. Viewers' eyes are drawn back and forth between the two scenes, following a turtle's path across a branch and the dragonfly's tail bursting out of the frame. The watercolors are fresh and richly drawn with fine details such as the veins on a lady slipper and the whiskers of a mouse. The book concludes with stargazing children and fireflies sparkling in the night sky. A wonderful addition that readers will return to again and again.–Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Cecil Frances Alexander was born in Ireland. She began writing poetry as a child and wrote nearly 400 hymns. She wrote "All things Bright and Beautiful, " one of her most popular, to help explain to children the opening words of the Apostles' Creed, a Christian statement of belief. The wife of an archbishop, she was known to be a generous woman who cared for the poor and opened a school for the deaf with her sister.

Anna Vojtech has illustrated numerous books for children, mostly folktales and stories about nature. Nature has always been a strong source of inspiration for Anna. Her pictures are full of flowers and animals, of giraffes and elephants, of little birds and chipmunks. Folktales are also about people, their nature and their spirit. Her illustrations have brought readers closer to the stories and traditions of their countries.
Anna grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, what is now the Czech Republic. "Prague was a magical place to grow up. We were surrounded by beauty, mystery, history and by nature." She studied art and toy design at the School of Applied Arts and animation film and graphics at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. Later she attended the Royal Academy in Antwerp, Belgium and the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany where she met her German-American husband.
Since 1982 she has lived on Cape Ann, Massachusetts with her husband and their two sons.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: North-South / Night Sky Books (July 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735818932
• ISBN-13: 978-0735818934
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 3.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,132,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice, October 3, 2009

By 

Rev. Vincent A. Lipinski - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All Things Bright and Beautiful (Paperback)

The book is actually a poem by Alexander which she penned in the late 1800's in England. It's basically a poem about the beauty of creation. What makes this book so nice is the art work that fills every page. It's a great children's book but equally it helped me remember "how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well".

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleased Preschool Teacher, April 2, 2009

By 

L. Whitlock - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All Things Bright and Beautiful (Hardcover)

I teach 3 year olds and we do a special month long unit about creation during the month of March. This book was a great addition to my library. The kids loved it.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bright and Beautiful Journey, May 2, 2007

By 

Rachael Towle "Rachael the Jedi Mommy!" (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Things Bright and Beautiful (Hardcover)

Imagine visiting a world of bright and vibrant colors, where the sky isn't only blue, but hues of green and purple too. A world of flittering dragonflies, fluttering butterflies, and buzzing bees over landscapes of green rolling hills and fields of fragrant flowers. All of this and more is brought to life in All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander, through the awe-inspiring illustrations of Anna Vojtech.

Any parent wanting to share God's daily gifts with their child can do so through the verse and illustrations of the book. From infant to toddler and even preschool through grade school, children will remain captivated with the wonderment this book inspires.

All Things Bright and Beautiful is a wonderful addition to any collection of books because of the little time it takes to read, but mostly because the effect on your child's senses will last a lifetime.