Saint Francis Sings to Brother Sun: A Celebration of His Kinship with Nature

From Karen Pandell and Bijou Le Tord comes an ode to Saint Francis's connection with nature that transcends culture and faith — an inspiration for all time and all people.Sing praises to all Your... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763615633
• ISBN13: 9780763615635
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Candlewick
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.9" x 0.5" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 3 years and up
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

enlightening for all ages

I was not sure if my kids would be able to appreciate this book but the format (excerpts from the Canticle of the Sun interspersed with tales from Saint Francis's life that related to his poetry and gorgeous paintings) was so beautiful that I couldn't resist it. We all took turns reading aloud from it on the way home and it turned out that with a little help on pronunciation, my third grader was able to read all of the stories and even my kindergartener was able to understand their meanings. The kids had been underwhelmed by the prospect of yet another saint book but as the kindergartener exclaimed 'it's not even boring!' and none of us wanted to put it down. Even very young children can relate to Saint Francis's deep love for God's handiwork in nature so this book is a wonderful way to teach about environmental responsibility without lecturing.

Animals and nature

The School Library Journal does a very nice job of reviewing this book and I would concur with all their observations about this book. I found the book entertaining but as a children's book a little dry. The illustrations don't really do justice to the beautiful subject matter. Based on a book written by St. Francis entitled "The Canticle of Brother Sun," this book presents short reflections from passages of the book. For further reading on the aforementioned book by St. Francis seeSt. Francis, Poet of Creation: The Story of the Canticle of Brother Sun. One of the more interesting stories attributed to St. Francis is the Miracle of Brother Wolf. It is about a wolf who terrorized a town until confronted by St. Francis. The wolf later was a natural, regular sight around town who did not harm anyone and was fed by the people; it is said that dogs did not even bark at Brother Wolf. This and many more stories are in this book. St. Francis, besides being known for his afection of all animals is the Patron Saint of Ecology as designated by Pope John Paul II in 1979. St. Francis feast day is October 4th and many places all over the world celebrate this special day. A blessing of the animals ceremony, where long processions of animals are paraded to churches to receive a blessing in honor of St. Francis is done annually. Thus his special kinship with animals is recalled every year. The lessons of St. Francis hold true for the modern world, especially in these times of ecological decay. This book is recommended as a supplement to teaching a young person, middle school age or younger, about the virtues of St. Francis. This would make a nice addition to a personal, community or Catholic middle school library. This book requires lots of adult help for children.

Delightfully illustrated

The lovely illustrations make this a must-have book, not to be left lying around on the coffee table but to be treasured, pored over and shared with young and old alike.