The Song of Francis

December 22, 2008
Introducing Francis of Assisi to the very young, dePaola retells the story of the saint's sermon to the birds, omitting any references to preaching and without identifying it as an episode from the saint's life. Instead, he depicts Francis as a solitary man “so filled with the love of God that he wanted to sing, to tell everyone how much God loved them.” The small blond angel who accompanies him everywhere tells him to sing even though he is alone, as God will hear him, and Francis begins, first inviting Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and then singing to the birds: “Come and bless the Lord, because the Lord loves you.” One by one, the birds come (dePaola names them by their colors), and then angels follow. Despite the small color lesson, there's not much of a story line; adults will have to rely on their ability to read aloud with genuine warmth in order to make a success of this text. The novel choice of media—collage using cut-up Avery labels colored with paintmarkers—yields a flower-power aesthetic, with Matisse-like stars and foliage thrown in, too. Ages 3–5.

December 1, 2008
A beautiful celebration of simplicity and joy for the very youngest children. Francis is full of the love of God and wants to sing out, but he is alone. Brother Son and Sister Moon join him, as do all the birds of the air in every color: red, orange, yellow, green, violet, brown, black, white. The birds sing with him, and the angels come to listen: "Love, love, love. " Tomorrow, he tells the small angel who is always with him, "I shall sing again. " Using painted collage on watercolor paper, dePaola achieves a vivid and muscular color, and Matisse-inspired shapes form birds, angels, stars and growing things; Francis is a barefoot, tonsured monk. The center spread is wordless, full of angels, stars, birds, sun and moon in a pale gold sky, the whole surpassingly sweet. With this effort, the artist refines the saint 's Canticle of the Sun/Canticle of the Creatures to an irreducible essence of joy in all creation. Glorious. (Picture book. 3-6)

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2009
PreS-Gr 1-This simple narrative introduces St. Francis to a younger audience than dePaola's "Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi" (Holiday House, 1982). Francis, the "Little Poor One," is lonely and has no one to hear his song about God's love. An angel tells him to sing anyway and soon Francis's song draws Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and the angels and birds come to listen. dePaola's tropical-hued collages convey the magic of this religious interpretation in an appealing way. Particularly charming are the cherubic angels and beatific faces of the sun and moon. Preschoolers will be drawn to the spread depicting a rainbow of birds flocking to St. Francis. A joyful addition to public and religious collections."Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Preschool-G Venerable author-illustrator dePaola has written about St. Francis before, in Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi (1982). This book is for a younger audience, andits purpose isnt to give information about the man but rather togive a sense of him, particularly his love of life and his affinity for Gods creatures. Although nowhere does the book allude tothe Canticle of the Sun, Francis ode to the naturalworld, this seems to be the basis for the book; Francis sings about Brother Sun and Sister Moon and invites thebirds to come and bless the Lord, because the Lord loves you. The collage art, which has both charm and power, uses marker-colored papers to make birds, trees, and a bevy of curly-hairedangels. In one exhilarating two-page spread, angels and birds intermingle, flying through the sky, as the brown-frocked Francis seems tolead them in song. An authors note would havehelped put Francis in context, but most children will be happy simply to soak up the joy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)