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osprey_archerCaldecott Monday returns! This week we have a charming retelling of St. George and the Dragon, specifically the version of the story from Spenser’s The Faerie Queen, which involves more praying and less interventions by Father Christmas than the version that my fifth-grade class put on in my youth.
(I played St. George, “old England’s pride, a man of courage bold” - one of my lines from the play; I still remember quite a bit of it after all these years. I was phenomenal.)
But back to the book. I particularly like the intricate borders around the pages of text: illustrations of blackberries or columbines or other English flowers, interspersed with gnomes, fairies, peasants in bright clothing scything the wheat, etc.: all very much in the tradition of medieval illuminated manuscripts.
No snails fighting knights, though, which I think we can all agree is would have been a delightful addition. But perhaps there is one in there and I just missed it? I don’t have quite the attention span for perusing illustrations that I did when I was a eight-year-old; at that age, I would have very much enjoyed sitting with this book for hours looking over the illustrations, and there’s quite enough detail here to reward it.
(I played St. George, “old England’s pride, a man of courage bold” - one of my lines from the play; I still remember quite a bit of it after all these years. I was phenomenal.)
But back to the book. I particularly like the intricate borders around the pages of text: illustrations of blackberries or columbines or other English flowers, interspersed with gnomes, fairies, peasants in bright clothing scything the wheat, etc.: all very much in the tradition of medieval illuminated manuscripts.
No snails fighting knights, though, which I think we can all agree is would have been a delightful addition. But perhaps there is one in there and I just missed it? I don’t have quite the attention span for perusing illustrations that I did when I was a eight-year-old; at that age, I would have very much enjoyed sitting with this book for hours looking over the illustrations, and there’s quite enough detail here to reward it.
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Date: 2017-05-22 01:55 pm (UTC)One of my favorite books she illustrated was by Lloyd Alexander: The Fortune Tellers, set in Cameroon. I think Trina Schart Hyman herself had a son-in-law from Cameroon. In one of the illustrations, you can see Lloyd Alexander in a café, along with Trina's daughter.
Just now I went and looked at some of the pages of St. George and the Dragon, and I agree about the borders! I could see campion in one of them.
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Date: 2017-05-22 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 06:07 pm (UTC)Okay, I must find a copy of this book again.
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Date: 2017-05-22 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 06:06 pm (UTC)It is really interesting to me how many of these I read as a child, not because they were Caldecott books, but simply because my elementary school library stocked them and I read everything I could find. I love Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations.
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Date: 2017-05-22 08:04 pm (UTC)