Shaker Boy

Ray, Mary Lyn; Winter, Jeanette [Illustrator]

ISBN 10: 0152769218 / ISBN 13: 9780152769215

Published by Harcourt, 1994

About this Item

flat signed by the Author and the illustrator on the title page, this copy has a solid tight binding and clean unmarked pages.some wear to the dust cover edges.office. Seller Inventory # vl291

Bibliographic Details

Title: Shaker Boy

Publisher: Harcourt

Publication Date: 1994

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Winter, Jeanette

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Good

Signed: Signed by Author

Edition: First Edition.

About this title

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.

Reviews:

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.

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