Song of the Camels: A Christmas Poem - Hardcover

Elizabeth Coatsworth; Anna Vojtech

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558588116 ISBN 13: 9781558588110

Publisher: North South Books, 1997

Synopsis

A poem describes the journey of camels carrying the Wise Men to see the new-born baby Jesus.

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Reviews

Grade 3 Up. Coatsworth's sophisticated poem tells the familiar story of the three kings from the camels' point of view. Luminous oil paintings on canvas with effective uses of light build on the drama, from page to page and scene to scene, as these beasts are shown from differing dramatic perspectives. One double-page spread uses light splashes of yellow, white, green, and touches of brown to create the look and texture of sand that the animals kick up (their legs a veritable forest of blue-and-black toned muscle and bone) as they walk through the desert. On another, three proud heads stretch up into the starry night sky that is their backdrop. The panoramas of the desert capture a land of blue/gray mountains and an endless sky that carries the single bright star toward which they walk. The continuing contrast between the inky blue, star-filled sky and the blinding yellow light of the desert sand gives this book its own, unspoken, rhythm. On the final page, these recurring elements of darkness and light, blue and yellow, fade together as the camels' disappearing forms cast long shadows in the sand as Coatsworth ends her story: "Portents of glory and danger/Our dark shadows lay/At the feet of the babe in the manger/And then drifted away." A haunting and visually arresting book.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The point of view of Coatsworth's 1935 poem--narrated by the wise men's camels--is still a fresh one. The spare text contains enough concrete details to bring the desert world to life. As the wise men arrive at the manger, ``The olives were windy and white,/Dust swirled through the town,/As all in their royal robes/Our masters knelt down.'' Tall, narrow pages lend themselves well to distant vistas with the star shimmering far ahead in the east; Vojtech's duskily glowing oil paintings capture all the sweep of sand and sky. Sometimes the picture moves in close--a camel's legs are all knobby knees and splayed feet--filling the entire spread. On the very next page the perspective pulls back to an almost aerial view, with the camels a tiny presence in the wide expanse of desert. A lovely and original holiday entry. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: North South Books
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1558588116
• ISBN 13: 9781558588110
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 25