Christmas in the Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown (Author) Anna Dewdney (Illustrator)
From the bestselling author of classics like Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny comes a Christmas story sure to delight generations of new readers, reillustrated in 2016 by the beloved Llama Llama creator, Anna Dewdney.
In this reissued edition by Margaret Wise Brown, Christmas in the Barn tells a childlike interpretation of the Nativity story with all-new full-color illustrations from New York Times bestselling illustrator Anna Dewdney, creator of the Llama Llama series.
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Brown’s Nativity story, first published in 1952, is updated with new art from the illustrator of the popular Llama Llama series.
The poetic, simple text follows Joseph and Mary as they are shown into the barn, where the animals wait. After the baby is born, the shepherds and wise men arrive, and an overhead perspective shows the whole cast of characters surrounding the newborn, “all safe and warm.” Dewdney’s striking, mixed-media paintings have a loose, post-impressionistic flavor, with some areas showing her brush strokes or the texture of the canvas surface. She employs a variety of perspectives and sometimes shows characters as dark, incomplete silhouettes. The faces of the animal characters have the most personality, while the faces of the humans are less distinct and sometimes even blurry. Two of the wise men have dark skin; the other people have light skin. Brown’s short, rhyming text is accessible and satisfying, with clever inclusions of well-known phrases from traditional Christmas carols, and her characteristic mastery of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition is on full display. Not all of her word pairs are exact rhymes, but they work nonetheless. One page includes the rhyming word pair grass/ass, which may require some explanation, as well as the unfamiliar word “kine,” an archaic plural for cows.
Despite these minor quibbles, a new edition of any of Brown’s work is a gift worth celebrating. (Picture book/religion. 2-6)Publishers Weekly
A rough-hewn barn of stone and wood, nestled in a field dotted with sheep and palm trees, sets the scene for this newly illustrated version of Brown's cozy 1952 story of Jesus's birth. The late Dewdney's canvas-textured, mixed-media artwork is well-matched to Brown's spare, rhyming text, which incorporates phrases from hymns and the Bible ("Away in a manger, no crib for his bed"; "Because there was no room in the inn") as it introduces a cast of animal onlookers ("The little mice rustled in the sweet dry grass/ Near the lambs and the kine and the ox and the ass"). The rugged landscape and lantern-lit barn are depicted at sunset, night, and daybreak from a variety of perspectives, the warm palette and forceful brushstrokes conveying the story's hushed refrain: "And there they were all safe and warm/ All together in that ancient barn." Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2--Originally published in 1952, with expertly crafted woodcuts by Barbara Cooney, then reissued in 2004 in a larger, full-color edition featuring bunny-strewn ink and watercolor art by Diane Goode, Brown's tender, lyrical account of the Nativity has been reissued once again, this time with illustrations by the late Dewdney of "Llama, Llama" fame. Using oil paint, pastel, pencil, and marker, the artist discards the two previous wintry depictions, providing a truer sense of place with appropriately spare flora set in a vast desert. The earthy pigments of the scenery and the animals are offset by a richly bright blue sky and colorful garments worn by Mary and the wise men. The animals are rendered with childlike accuracy and just a hint of cartoonish whimsy. The humans are a bit more realistic and in varying skin tones, leaving the ethnicity of the holy family open to interpretation. Multiple tableaus offer myriad details but are never too busy. They expand the succinct text, giving a quiet sense of grandeur while at the same time making readers feel a part of the events. VERDICT A lovely book for a new generation of readers.--Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV017010 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Christmas & Advent
JUV033010 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Christian - General
Domestic animals
Christmas stories
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Farm Animals
JUVENILE FICTION / Holidays & Celebrations /
Christmas
Jesus Christ
JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Ge
Nativity
