Shaker Boy - Hardcover

Ray, Mary Lyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152769218 ISBN 13: 9780152769215

Publisher: Browndeer Pr, 1994

Synopsis

A lyrical picture book by the author of Alvah and Arvilla celebrates the world of the Shakers, which emphasizes work, devotion, and song, in the story of young Caleb, who hears angels singing and makes the songs into a book.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Winter's (Diego) primitive-style art, notable for its intense hues, unusual juxtaposition of color and strength of line, is the perfect foil to this story of a boy whose widowed mother sends him to live at a Shaker community. Ray (Pianna) skillfully weaves fact and a touch of fancy (Caleb hears "angels") into an absorbing, informative tale. As readers watch Caleb grow from youth to manhood, they gain an understanding of the Shaker creed, including its reverence for a way of life firmly rooted in the cycle of seasons. Caleb's first job is in the hen house (the kitchen needs 280 eggs each morning for breakfast), then he progresses to the cow barn, the broom shop, sugaring off, planting and harvesting, and the print shop, where he prints the songs he has learned and makes them into a book. Along the way, the angels teach Caleb songs, lyrics and scores of which are incorporated into the text. Finally, Caleb is made deacon of the apple orchard, where he spends the remainder of his life gathering apples-and songs. It's a work of craftsmanship on all levels: exceptionally well written, elegantly designed and lovingly illustrated. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. When six-year-old Caleb's father dies in the Civil War and his mother must work in the mills, she takes the boy to live with the Shakers. Gradually, Caleb learns Shaker ways of work, worship, and learning. When he grows up, he becomes the deacon of the orchard, responsible for planting, pruning, and harvesting the apple trees and making applesauce and cider. Throughout his life, Caleb hears songs sung by angels, and in the end the angels come for him. The songs and music appearing in the book are Shaker songs, though the story itself is fictional. Colorful paintings in a folk-art style illustrate the book with warmth and simplicity. A pleasant, child-appealing interpretation of Shaker ways. Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: Browndeer Pr
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0152769218
• ISBN 13: 9780152769215
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Winter Jeanette