What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this beautiful fairytale from the
Julie Andrews Collection is about a musician who wants to be
more worthy of his lady's love and the lessons he learns as he
tries to find his own music. Nothing objectionable is
presented.
Families can talk about why Simeon felt he had to find his own music. How would that make him worthier? Or happier? Why did the music of the city sound so discordant to him? Do you think he should have given up his lute altogether? What were the lessons he learned on the way back home and how did they help him find his way? Why is this book called Simeon's Gift? What gifts did he bring back home with him? This might also be a good time to explore life in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the music, art, clothing, abbeys, cathedrals, and castles with their tapestries.
Common Sense Media Review
It's refreshing to find such a remarkable book as SIMEON'S
GIFT, a true fairytale with its rich poetic text interwoven
with such amazing illustrations. The story itself is a
classical quest tale of a young man going out in search of
himself. He encounters lessons along the way and ultimately
finds that the secret lies within himself and in the natural
world around him.
This simple, gentle tale is enriched both by the figurative language in which it is told and the amazing watercolor illustrations that hang like medieval tapestries on every page. Scattered with words not often found in kids books, like "encampment," "invigorated," and "caucophany" as well as similes, metaphors, and alliterations, the story becomes magical and musical.
The watercolor illustrations of Russian artist Gennady Spirin further enhance the music and the magic. Brilliant even in the paperback edition, each one is a masterpiece in detail, color, and technique, and brings to mind the work of the Renaissance masters. Spirin is well-known for his elegant watercolors and has received numerous awards for his work with children's books.
Because of its magnificently beautiful illustrations, the hard cover edition of Simeon's Gift might be the better purchase, especially since it also includes a CD of the story being read by Dame Julie Andrews herself. Both editions are part of the Julie Andrews Collection, which under the umbrella of "Words, Wisdom and Wonder" includes "new works by established and emerging authors, out-of-print gems worthy of resurrection," as well as books by Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Hamilton.
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