Rylant pairs a series of indoor and outdoor scenes, each framed in a border of patchwork squares and painted with bright, opaque, broadly brushed colors, with a rhymed month-by-month catalog of blessings that will challenge even the hardiest sweet tooth, e.g., for June: “Bless the flowers,/bless the bees,/bless the birds/above the trees,/Bless the bunnies,/kitties too,/Bless each day,/all warm and blue.” The pictures are more sanguine and less sentimental; not only are the naively drawn human and animal figures naturally and expressively posed, but the book’s overall visual unity is maintained, despite a changing color scheme from spread to spread. Very young children will find soothing rhythms in both pictures and text, but this is more of an artistic achievement than a literary one. (Picture book. 1-5)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-82370-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1998
The Divine Hours is a popular series of prayer manuals for adults written by Tickle, a well-known religious educator. This addition to her series is aimed at very young children, offering three short, original prayers for each day of the week. An introductory poem explains that the prayers are to be read in the morning, at rest time and at bedtime, although many of the prayers are more general in subject and suitable for any time of day. The prayers are written in a simple, gentle style, often using a structured format with soothing repetitive phrases. The author uses the terms God and Lord (but not Father), and there are no references to Jesus or to any specific religion or religious practices. Warnick’s watercolor illustrations in soft pastels provide a pleasing setting for the prayers, which are inserted in white inset blocks decorated with spot illustrations of animals, plants and toys. A concluding author’s note for adults explains Tickle’s approach to fixed-hour prayer. Her intent is that her collection can be used by families of any religion. (Nonfiction. 2-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-525-47828-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
This sweet and traditional collection includes 25 children’s prayers and poems with a Christian theme. Most of the selections are short prayers, many of them familiar graces or bedtime prayers such as “I See the Moon” and “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” Most of the prayers are just four lines long, making this collection quite accessible to preschoolers. The poems and prayers are nicely integrated into the volume’s design in two ways, either skillfully worked into the illustration on a blank wall or on a patch of sky, or else set off on ivory panels that stand out from the art. Kangas uses children of many ethnicities in her appealing illustrations in pencil, watercolor and oil wash. She shows children in their cozy homes and yards, playing with toys, feeding pets and enjoying meals with extended family members. The overall effect is both charming and soothing, ending with bedtime prayers and a goodnight poem by Victor Hugo. A fine choice for a baby gift or as a child’s first book of prayers for a home library. (Nonfiction. 2-5)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3054-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2007
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