The life of the real St. Nicholas, patron saint of brides, young boys, and seafarers, is laid out in episodic text and artwork. While St. Nicholas’s generosity led people to celebrate his feast day long before Dr. Clement Moore penned his famous poem, he is largely unknown to most people today. His beneficence began when he heard of a father who could no longer support his three unwed daughters. By throwing bags of money through an open window on three successive nights, he provided the sisters with the dowry they needed to wed, and saved them from being sold into slavery. On almost every page, the reader learns of miraculous occurrences associated with St. Nicholas—from discovering the murderer of three young boys and bringing them back to life, to a time he fed the people during a famine in an event very like the Bible story of the loaves and fishes. Although the text shows several “Santas,” the main focus is on the life of the saint, not on the transition in popularity from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus. The luminous illustrations are reproductions of paintings done in the 13th through 16th centuries. The vibrant pictures glow with an illuminated manuscript-type quality rarely seen in books meant for children. Unfortunately, they are not captioned, but rather listed in the back and indexed by page number—a difficult system when the pages of the book are themselves not numbered. Nonetheless, Mayer’s (The Twelve Apostles, not reviewed, etc.) work is a wonderful tribute to the saint whose generosity is celebrated every year. (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2624-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this fourth of a series (A New Beginning, 2008, etc.), science, myth and custom merge into a celebratory introduction to the Summer Solstice. As summer approaches, bison shed winter coats, mountain goats move to summer pastures and butterflies emerge from cocoons. Simultaneously, people move outdoors to picnic and play in the growing sunlight. Pfeffer transitions from familiar summer activities into scientific concepts about the earth’s orbital position on or about June 21, which produces the longest day. She segues into myths of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Greek sun gods and introduces ancient monuments erected to the solstice, such as the Chumash Indian House of the Sun, Stonehenge, New Hampshire’s Mystery Hill and the Plains Indian Bighorn Medicine Wheel. From myths and monuments, the author moves to celebrations: Lithuanian fire wheels, Germanic bonfires, Bohemian flower wreaths, Swedish midsummer poles and Alaskan “Polar Bear” swims, ending with lawn sprinklers and beach sand. Bleck’s sprightly, colorful illustrations offer a visual celebration as they faithfully track the text. A comfortable, multidimensional investigation of the Summer Solstice that transcends time and place. (facts, activities) (Informational picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42237-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
In the Dragon Books series (Suzanne Williams's Made in China, 1997, etc.), a look at the culture of the 7,107 islands of the Philippines, launched with the festivals that celebrate the origins of the Filipino people. The statistics in an introductory chapter are daunting: 70,000,000 people, 87 languages, 3,000,000 words in the main language of Pilipino. Krasno makes clear that the heart of Filipino culture is in the divergent backgrounds of those who came to the islands—from China, Spain, the Middle East, Portugal—and in the honor-bound blending of the old with the new that results in so many celebrations that ``you couldn't go to every festival if you tried.'' In chapters named for some of the events—e.g., ``Celebrating Rice, the Ati-Atihan Festival'' and ``Festival of the Higantes''—Krasno gives background and adds stories, songs, recipes, and games. It's a robust sampler of an obviously rich and varied culture, fortified by Lee's vibrant folk-art paintings—a book to help Filipino- American children honor their heritage (as part of the ``second- largest group of Asian-Americans'' in the US) or to fill a niche in multicultural collections. (map) (Anthology. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 1-881896-15-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
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