Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Hereand#8217;s a song whose lyrics everyone knows and that therefore demands something spectacular to distinguish it. This version, sumptuously illustrated by Long, certainly delivers.and#8221; and#151;The New York Times
and#160;
The astounding talent of Laurel Long brings this beloved song to life with breathtaking style. Set against a lush countryside, each day brings a new gift elegantly rendered. And like in the verses of the song, the previous gifts are repeated in every illustration, giving this striking artwork a hidden aspect, culminating in a staggering spread featuring them all. Readers will pore over every page, searching for golden rings, turtledoves, and all the rest, secretly tucked into each stunning painting.
Laurel Long's unparalleled style makes this exquisite volume a treasure that will be cherished for years to come.
and#160;
and#147;Ms. Long has secreted lyrical clues within each picture that children will relish hunting down.and#8221;
and#151;The Wall Street Journal
and#160;
* and#147;Long expertly weaves religious and secular images into a visually arresting interpretation of the traditional carol.and#8221;
and#151;Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
Praise for Laurel Longand#8217;s The Twelve Days of Christmas: and#160;
and#8220;Hereand#8217;s a song whose lyrics everyone knows and that therefore demands something spectacular to distinguish it. This version, sumptuously illustrated by Long, certainly delivers.and#8221;
and#8212;The New York Times
and#160;
and#8220;and#8220;Ms. Long has secreted lyrical clues within each picture that children will relish hunting down.and#8221;
and#8212;The Wall Street Journal
and#160;
* and#8220;Long expertly weaves religious and secular images into a visually arresting interpretation of the traditional carol.and#8221;
and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
and#160;
and#8220;An accomplished visual interpretation with a playful element for children to enjoy.and#8221;
and#8212;Booklist
and#160;
and#8220;This version has a dreamy, fairy-tale sensibility."
and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
and#160;
and#8220;Longand#8217;s lyrical and lush oil paintings, reminiscent of Russian icon art, combined with a tricky interactive element, make this version of the traditional carol special.and#8221;
and#8212;School Library Journal
Synopsis
"Here's a song whose lyrics everyone knows and that therefore demands something spectacular to distinguish it. This version, sumptuously illustrated by Long, certainly delivers."--The New York Times The astounding talent of Laurel Long brings this beloved song to life with breathtaking style. Set against a lush countryside, each day brings a new gift elegantly rendered. And like in the verses of the song, the previous gifts are repeated in every illustration, giving this striking artwork a hidden aspect, culminating in a staggering spread featuring them all. Readers will pore over every page, searching for golden rings, turtledoves, and all the rest, secretly tucked into each stunning painting.
Laurel Long's unparalleled style makes this exquisite volume a treasure that will be cherished for years to come.
"Ms. Long has secreted lyrical clues within each picture that children will relish hunting down."
--The Wall Street Journal
* "Long expertly weaves religious and secular images into a visually arresting interpretation of the traditional carol."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
A centuries-old favorite holiday carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was one of the first to celebrate the secular tradition of gift-giving. This sumptuously illustrated version features not only the gifts of a suitor to his true love but a loving family's Christmas preparations, how to say "Merry Christmas" in 12 different language, and a vast array of charming woodland animals.
Synopsis
The story of Hans Brinker is a true classic, but few still read the novel, which was written in the 1860s. Now Bruce Coville and Laurel Long are reintroducing the charming tale in this glorious picture book version. Laurel Longs paintings are breathtaking and luminous. And as he has done in his retellings of Shakespeares plays, Bruce Coville has masterfully reshaped the sprawling story into a picture book thats fresh, engrossing, and faithful to the intent of the original. This is a tale of a family sticking together through hardship, and of wishes granted just in the nick of time. The race to win the silver skates is well-known, but the mystery of the watch and the missing riches is equally enticing. This is the best kind of fairy tale, and kids will be riveted by its drama. For the winter holidays or anytime, this is a book to cherish.
About the Author
With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."