Amazing Peace

November 1, 2008
Angelou 's poem considers peace as a joyous concept that rises up during the Christmas season, drawing in and including those of all faiths, sweeping everyone along with its power. This visual interpretation of the poem follows the residents of a small town as they trek through deep snow to gather at their town hall for a holiday celebration. Although there are lighted Christmas trees throughout the town, this particular celebration is a nondenominational community dinner and candle-lighting, with people of many faiths and backgrounds joining together in peaceful solidarity. Johnson and Fancher 's understated, mixed-media illustrations use fabric scraps for plaid and checked coats on the townspeople, with darker fabrics for buildings and thick brushstrokes of white paint over cloth for the snow. Although doubtlessly well-intended, the author 's invitation to Buddhists, Confucians, Jains, Jews and Muslims —not to mention "Nonbelievers " —to join in the celebration of "the Birth of Jesus Christ / Into the great religions of the world " is at best tone-deaf and at worst frankly assimilationist. (Picture book/poetry. 6 & up)

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

October 1, 2008
Gr 3 Up-This poem was largely inspired by the terrible natural disasters occurring throughout the world when Angelou was invited to read at the 2005 White House tree-lighting ceremony. Thus, the opening lines rumble and roil almost menacingly to illustrate the climate of doubt and anxiety into which the spirit of Christmas arrives. Hope enters as a whisper and grows until it is louder than the explosion of bombs. The harsher aspects of the world fade as people of all faiths and races join together in trust and brotherhood. Johnson and Fanchers paintings, rendered in oil, acrylic, and fabric on canvas, elegantly depict a calm, snow-blanketed village where children play, families shop, and artisans ply their crafts. People gather at the Town Hall for sweets and cocoa, and then, in a candlelight procession, join again to sing beneath the stars. This is a comforting book that gets to the heart of what Christmas should mean. As an added treat, Angelou reads the poem on the accompanying CD."Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2008
Grades K-5 Originally read at the 2005 White House tree-lighting ceremony and published as a Christmas book for adults, Angelous stirring poem is presented alongside convivial winter scenes in a picture bookintended for young readers, but whose message andsplendidartwork will appeal to all ages. Angelou celebrates the spirit of the seasona time to learn to look beyond complexion and see communitywith a resonating call for hope, unity, and, above all, peace. Johnson and Fanchers richly textured acrylic, oil, and fabric collage illustrations reflect the sentiments of the poem while also telling their own story, as a family makes their way througha snowy small town to join their multicultural community in a celebration at the town hall. From the strings of Christmas lights on buildings ingeniously constructed from textured fabric to the glorious washes of candlelight on the carolers faces, the timeless, heartwarming scenes dazzle the eye with their incandescence. An accompanying CD of Angelous reading the poem completes the package.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)