Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9501060019
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY PEGGY C. DAVIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By Carol Ryrie Brink (1895-1981). Illustrated by Ashley Wolff. North-South Books. $14.95.
Brink's poem is short, simple and clear in its description of baking a cake. Wolff studied the poem, did some research and came up with a delightful picture book that catches the spirit of the experience. You can almost smell the spices used in the cake and in case you really get carried away, the recipe is printed in the back. It's based on an actual recipe found at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. Just remember, it's not now considered safe to let the children "lick the dish" when the cake goes in the oven. The colors, pictures and whole idea make this book completely successful.
The Christmas Drum.
By Maureen Brett Hooper. Illustrated by Diane Paterson. Boyds Mill Press. $14.95
This is a story based on a tradition of Romania called the colindat or colindat cu duba: caroling with drum. It's a charming story and the pictures of the people and children bring to mind the faces of the children in the orphanages when Romania's closed borders opened for all the world to see the conditions of the country. The theme is the traditional one of "I think I can, I think I can" then "I knew I could, I knew I could." Descendants of Eastern Europeans especially should welcome this book as well as all who appreciate differences in customs. The pictures are in gentle colors with happy accents.
The Princess and the Painter.
By Jane Johnson. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $15.
Jane Johnson has attacked the myth of how wonderful it is to be a princess. The princess here is the Infanta Margarita of Spain. The book tells what may have happened the day she first saw the masterpiece by Velazquez, Las Meninas, featuring her own likeness. The story compelled me to reach for our copy of "The Prado" (Abrams) to read that "in 1623 a young painter from Saville, Diego Rodriguez de Silva Y Velazquez would raise Spanish art to the highest of levels." Perhaps this same curiosity will prompt readers of this little book to investigate the art further. It would have been easy and helpful for Johnson to note the current location of the picture. Nevertheless, this would be a good choice for the 3-8 year-old set.
Winter Across America.
By Seymour Simon. Hyperion Books for Children. $14.95.
For a nonfiction science book, the story here is as charming as any fairy tale and a lot more useful and informative. For the bright, inquisitive child who dwells in the world of facts and literal events, this is a must. The photographs are true "art" shots of the world around us. Simon's first in this series was "Autumn Across America." Now we all look forward to spring.
Good King Wenceslas.
By John Mason Neale (1818-1866), with illustrations and ornaments by Christopher Manson. North-South Books. $14.95.
The most interesting page of this book is the last and should be read first to learn the story of Wenceslas and the origin of the Christmas carol written by John Mason Neale in the middle of the 19th century. The many who have toured Prague will remember the statue in the public square honoring Wenceslas, Bohemia's patron saint. The story here is what happened after the end of the carol. The pictures and decorations are very much old world in style. The printing style is also in period design that fits the pictures but is hard to read. The musical notes for the melody and the words of the carol are included, too.
Peggy C. Davis reviews books regularly for this page.
by CNB