This is what a picture book should be. A perfect pairing of beautiful text and beautiful illustrations.
I love haiku and Jack Prelutsky's verses are beautiful examples of the form. I love poems that linger, that take up residence in your heart and resonate long after the book is closed. The title poem has made a nest in my ear and sings to me while I'm doing the dishes:
A gorgeous presentation of the Easter story! Fiona French tells the story in twelve stained glass tableaux: the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus judged before Pilate, the scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, taking him from the cross and laying him in the tomb, the resurrection, meeting with doubting Thomas, the loaves and fishes by the Sea of Tiberius, the Ascension into heaven.
This book tells the story of the passion and resurrection from the point of view of the donkey that carried Christ on his back. "The little donkey had never been ridden before, but Jesus spoke gently to him, and soon he stopped being afraid." The donkey (and an angel companion who is never mentioned in the text but is always present in the scenes) follows along after the entrance into Jerusalem and witnesses the primary events of the Gospel narratives including the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Ascension.
The story follows a donkey, named Bethlehem, who was born on the same night and in the same stable as Jesus and who never forgets that it was a special night, symbolized by the mysterious golden light that shines from the star that guided the Magi.
The Blackbird's Nest is the story of St. Kevin of Ireland (498 A.D-618 A.D.). I first became acquainted with his legend in Seamus Heaney's poem, St Kevin and the Blackbird. In both Heaney's poem and in this beautiful picture book it's a fabulous story about a real historical figure, the abbot and founder of the monastery at Glendalough.
I love conversion stories, they are the best kind of romance. When I find a good one online (and aren't they all good?) I devour the whole thing. Even if it's pages and pages long. Leap of Faith is a great conversion story. There aren't many novels that explore the faith of young people. Especially not faith in its nascent stages as doubt gives way to yearning. And then yearning leads to the moment when the leap is made:
Melanie Bettinelli is a native Texan learning to love the four seasons in her husband's native New England. She is the mother of two beautiful girls: Isabella, born in May of 2006, and Sophia, born March 2008. She is expecting a son, Benedict Joseph, due in July of 2009.
Although both her daughters are still too young for formal schooling, Melanie already considers herself a homeschooler and has been reading about homeschooling and writing about her research on her blog, The Wine Dark Sea, since before Isabella was born.
