The Song of Celestine : Inspired by the Celestine Prophecy - Hardcover

Redfield, James; Lillegard, Dee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316739235 ISBN 13: 9780316739238

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1998

Synopsis

A boy uses the insights he discovers on his journey through the woods to find his way back to the safety of his own home in an inspirational book illustrated by the creator of Ship of Dreams.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Redfield and Lillegard spoon-feed the message of The Celestine Prophecy to a younger audience in this overbearing picture book. Lillegard's lumbering, aggrandized verse ("Celestine was filled, filled full/ with energy!/ Celestine was thrilled, thrilled through/ with energy!") relates the journey of young Celestine, who loses his way in the woods and ends up on a quest for life's deeper meaning. "Swirled and set in a strange, medieval world," he witnesses wars, wanders into a flower-filled field, fights a warrior to keep his "energy" and is finally told to go home by a flock of butterflies (and led by a deer), all the while pondering such platitudes as "Pay attention?now and to the past," "Love," "Dream," "Share," "Rejoice." There's not enough of a story here to engage the attention of young readers, nor are they likely to grasp the cloaked meaning (e.g., some readers may suspect the "warrior" plays a larger role, but never discover what that might be). Conversely, Morrissey's (The Great Kettles) gleaming oil paintings, with their painstaking detail, masterful use of light and deep, saturated colors, remain grounded in reality, with a delicate hint of spiritual forces at work (e.g., a swirling path of moon and stars). His artwork?which, particularly in the still-life scenes, recalls the works of the Dutch masters?plants the seeds for Celestine's epiphany, showing a glimpse of the boy's room in an early scene, with all the elements (flowers, a butterfly, blocks that spell out "home") foreshadowed. Yet even the stellar artwork is not enough to hoist this book out of its pompous mire. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Celestine, a neat kid undaunted by being dressed in a jerkin and toting a lute, is having a bad day. Feeling "unloved, unheard, unseen" makes him "cold, afraid, alone." Out of the blue, some leaves, ants, a door, clouds, and a shadow spell out bits and pieces of a life-changing message: "'Pay attention-now and to the past./To flowers. To faces.' He was home at last./And the choir sang in a single voice,/'Love. Dream. Share. Rejoice!'" That's it, folks. The text mentions struggle, a warrior, a fight-but all readers ever see is the tousle-haired cherub posing amiably with some quasi-medieval props. This sweet message has been very successful for James Redfield in his adult book The Celestine Prophecy, and this decorative volume is likely to be cherished by parents looking for insights on the most uncontroversial level. Who could argue, even if it's in doggerel, when the hero, painted in superrealistic oils on canvas, is so photogenic? Like him, this book will never be alone-it will fly off library shelves into the spiritual vacuum out there.
Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0316739235
• ISBN 13: 9780316739238
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Morrissey Dean