Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Ebook35 pages8 minutes
Simple Gifts
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this ebook
In words, pictures, and song, a nineteenth-century hymn continues to delight “’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free.” So begins Simple Gifts, a generations-old hymn written by the Shakers of Alfred, Maine. In that simple community, people based their lives on kindness, trust, and the joys that come when we sing and dance together. In this lush volume, acclaimed illustrator Chris Raschka brings this famous song to life, celebrating animals and landscapes with bold brushstrokes and warm colors. A cat, a rabbit, a turtle, and even the trees appear to dance to the lyrics. After all, sometimes the finest gifts are the simplest ones.
This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.
This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.
Author
Chris Raschka
Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals—one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation five times. He lives in New York City with his family.
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Reviews for Simple Gifts
Rating: 3.7391304521739133 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
23 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thick black outlines and bright colors that seem to be a closeup so close that the pictures look abstract with the text of "Simple Gifts" at the bottom---it feels too cluttered and not simple enough. The last page discusses the song and the Shakers and has the song, musical score and text. The author says that the Shakers liked to sing it fast and dance to it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book has lyrics written in the book which make it more of a sing along than a listen to the recording sort of book. The illustrations are extremely beautiful and connect very well with the story. This book would be good for younger students.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hmm...not too crazy about this one. The book is based on a Shaker's hymn but it just doesn't translate well into a children's book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5&
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/53.5 starsThis was a short sweet story about a lonely man who has had a crush on his best friend's older brother for ages. There is history and when he comes home from the war in Afghanistan for good at Christmas, they meet again. I've a feeling I would have enjoyed it even more if it had been longer and I'd had more detail about the history between the two. There is also origami.
Book preview
Simple Gifts - Chris Raschka
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