Kindergarten-Grade 3-This picture-book version of the well-loved carol includes the musical notation and lyrics for all three verses. Double-page spreads feature paintings in muted tones with soft, curving lines that evoke a gentle quality; moonlight, starlight, campfire light, celestial light, and a light that emanates from the baby Jesus himself create a dramatic focus for each illustration. The setting changes from page to page, shifting from snowy alpine village to desert wilderness to the North Pole. While this device highlights the universality of the song, it may confuse some readers. However, adults seeking a simple, reverent title for sharing-whether to be sung or read aloud-will welcome this edition. Front matter includes a brief account of how Mohr and Franz Gruber came to write the song in 1818.-S.P.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
In an introduction, artist Dusikov explains that the words to the favorite Christmas carol "Silent Night" were written on the spur of the moment by an Austrian priest one Christmas Eve. She draws on this history in her artwork, blending a snow-covered Austrian setting with scenes of the Nativity, showing a tiny stable blanketed in snow. An assortment of animals--from pigs to rabbits to sheep--surrounds the blonde baby. Both people and animals are depicted with great tenderness, and the watercolors nicely capture the sense of peace found in the song's words. In an old-fashioned but not dated way, the artwork also shows an Inuit family noticing the new star in the sky. In the final picture, Dusikov brings the past and the present together by showing modern-day children carrying a creche standing next to the stable. Lyrics and music are appended. Susan Dove Lempke
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