Giving Thanks: Poems, Prayers, and Praise Songs of Thanksgiving

Gr 4 Up—"Prayer is nothing but the inhaling and exhaling of the one breath of the universe." Appearing in this rich compendium of poems, prayers, and speeches, these short lines attributed to Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) seem a nice summation of this collection from many traditions, authors, and centuries. Paterson opens each of the four segments with personal reflections that draw on her childhood and adult life. Her commentary and many of the sophisticated selections will be of most interest to teens and adult readers, but some content will be familiar to children. The volume invites family sharing. Bill Staine wrote that, "All God's critters got a place in the choir," and the choir here includes Inuit and other Native American voices, Islamic prayers, and such thinkers and leaders as Albert Schweitzer, Desmond Tutu and Mahatma Gandhi. The sections are organized around themes of food, nature, spirit, and community. Intricate lacy paper-cut motifs in an ivory tone frame or perch alongside text and illustrations on all pages of this slim, square volume. Set against a color background, a leafy paper-cut column, some including animals and others with humans, decorate the left edge of every spread. Small vignettes appear occasionally; the pretty scenes hint at nursery rhymes rather than the rich blend of history, cultures, and ideas that are here. Many sources are acknowledged in the closing list of permissions.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston