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All Things Bright and Beautiful

Name: All Things Bright and Beautiful
Author: Cecil Frances Alexander
ISBN: 9780060266172

by Cecil Frances Alexander, Bruce Whatley

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Overview

Armed only with gloriously hued colored paper and his mother's embroidery scissors, renowed artist Ashley Bryan captures the mightiest whales and the most delicate blossoms, pearls of grapes, and grins of children in this homage to Cecil F. Alexander's beloved hymn, which is perfromed by choirs around the world.

An illustrated version of the well-known hymn, which describes the marvels of God's creation.

Synopsis

Written in 1848, this beloved hymn celebrates the wonders of Creation. Now, it is given new life in Vojtech's glowing interpretation, with lush illustrations of two children and their frisky pup exploring the wealth of treasures brought by spring. Full color.

Pam Woegandt

... beautifully illustrated, profoundly told and would be a joy to read to a beloved child. —Southwestern Episcopalian

About the Author, Cecil Frances Alexander

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.

Bruce Whatley is one of Australia’s best-loved and most-respected author–illustrators. His most recent books include the enormously successful and award-winning Diary of a Wombat, written by Jackie French, and its companion volume, The Secret World of Wombats, also illustrated by Bruce. The best selling team have also collaborated on Pete the Sheep, and most recently, Josephine Wants to Dance. Two of Bruce’s previous books, The Ugliest Dog in the World and Tails from Grandad’s Attic, were named as Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia in 1993 and 1996 respectively. Looking for Crabs was shortlisted by the Children’s Book Council in 1993 and Detective Donut and the Wild Goose Chase was named an Honour Book by the Children’s Book Council in 1998. Bruce has illustrated forty books to date, including a number that he has co-written with Rosie Smith. Their latest collaboration was Little White Dogs Can’t Jump.

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Editorials

Jeanette Hardage

... colorful, whimsical, bushy-haired people and angels... docile animals... —Christianity and the Arts

Pam Woegandt

... beautifully illustrated, profoundly told and would be a joy to read to a beloved child. —Southwestern Episcopalian

Publishers Weekly

"Alexander's beloved 1848 ode to the natural wonders of God's creation receives a fresh treatment via Vojtech's expansive watercolor paintings in this handsome, square-format book," PW wrote. Ages 3-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

From sun-colored endpapers to glowing watercolors, following two children and a dog through landscapes of meadows and mountains, summer and winter, night and day, this is indeed a bright and beautiful journey. The pictures illustrate the familiar hymn written by Mrs. Alexander, wife of a bishop of the establishment Church of Ireland, and meant to explain to children the first statement of the Apostle's Creed. The more one learns about its circumstances, the more ironic seems its message. Celebrating the beauty of earth's creatures and seasons with sublime faith, it appeared in the momentous year of 1848 when Ireland was in the grip of the Great Famine and Europe was writhing in the throes of revolution. One stanza, omitted here, asserted: "The rich man in his castle, / the poor man at his gate, / God made them high and lowly / And ordered their estate." Many starving and suffering children must have been far removed from such a serene expression of a sunny, well-ordered universe. Well, it was intended for a select audience of another day and if we can delete that stanza and concentrate on the creatures (curving dragonflies, a scarlet cardinal, a kingfisher with its catch) and the wonders of nature (brilliant sunflowers, plump strawberries, "purple-headed mountains"), we can appreciate Czech-born painter Vojtech's lavish depiction of "all things wise and wonderful" and allow parents to decide whether to ignore or emphasize the doctrinal message. Children can revel in the lush details and wait until later to investigate the history. 2004, North-South, Ages 3 to 8.
—Barbara L. Talcroft

School Library Journal

Gr 1 Up-- All the verses to Alexander's familiar hymn are illustrated by Heyer's drawings. Her use of felt-tipped pens makes for richly colored illustrations, but they do little to the expand the meaning of the words. There seems to be no unified theme or mood to them--``the sunset and the morning/ That brightens up the sky'' is accompanied by penguins and a pink/purple/blue skyline; the next line ``The cold wind in the winter,/ The pleasant summer sun'' is illustrated by howling wolves and a desert landscape. The purpose of a single illustrated volume of any familiar poem would seem to be to explore the layers of that work, and not to provide a convenient vehicle for an illustrator's talent. Alexander's words are better served by listening to the hymn itself. --Kathleen Whalin, Belfast Public Library, ME

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 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 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Bright and beautiful watercolor illustrations and a large format with a thoughtful design combine to bring new life to the old words of this familiar hymn written in 1848. The rhyming text attributes everything under the sun to God's creation, from "all creatures great and small" to the tallest mountain, and from the general (the wind, the seasons) to the specific (each little bird and each ripe fruit). The cheerful illustrations on double-page spreads contain a central panel that specifically illustrates the relevant text surrounded by a large border that includes related flowers, trees, and wildlife. A sister and brother pair and their spotted dog are shown in each central panel, while a pair of mice provides a continuous thread in the borders throughout. The large, luminous illustrations make this an ideal choice for reading aloud to a group, and the short, simple text could also be sung, though the music for the hymn is not included. (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-7)