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The First Noel
Watercolor scenes illustrate these timeless lyrics. Includes written music and history of the carol
- GenresChristmasPicture Books
24 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 27, 2020
The traditional English Christmas carol, The First Noel - sometimes also known as The First Nowell - is paired with beautiful watercolor artwork from Jody Wheeler in this lovely holiday picture-book. Each two-page spread features one verse of the song on the right-hand page, and a full-page illustration on the left. A brief forward gives some history of the carol, while the full text, with musical notation, is given at the rear...
After feeling decidedly lukewarm about Janina Domanska's picture-book presentation of this carol - I didn't care for her artwork, and was disappointed that she used the five-verse version of the song, rather than the full six-verse one - I picked up this version done by Jody Wheeler with interest. I was pleased to see that although the refrain wasn't used in the text of the book (I tend to sing Christmas carol picture-books to myself, as I read them, so I simplied supplied the refrain), the full six-verse version is used here. I was also pleased with the artwork, which, although not what I would describe as extraordinary, I found more appealing than that done by the better-known Domanska. They're done in very different styles, so perhaps the comparison is unfair, but there you have it. Of the two, this is definitely the one I would recommend, to those readers seeking picture-book presentations of The First Noel.
After feeling decidedly lukewarm about Janina Domanska's picture-book presentation of this carol - I didn't care for her artwork, and was disappointed that she used the five-verse version of the song, rather than the full six-verse one - I picked up this version done by Jody Wheeler with interest. I was pleased to see that although the refrain wasn't used in the text of the book (I tend to sing Christmas carol picture-books to myself, as I read them, so I simplied supplied the refrain), the full six-verse version is used here. I was also pleased with the artwork, which, although not what I would describe as extraordinary, I found more appealing than that done by the better-known Domanska. They're done in very different styles, so perhaps the comparison is unfair, but there you have it. Of the two, this is definitely the one I would recommend, to those readers seeking picture-book presentations of The First Noel.
December 15, 2008
Beautifully illustrated book with several verses of the song. Fun to sing to the girls.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews