Hark! A Christmas Sampler

by Jane Yolen, Tomie dePaola (Illustrator), Adam Stemple (Composer)

All over the world people come together to celebrate Christmas with special foods, decorations,music, and gift giving. Jane Yolen, Tomie dePaola, and Adam Stemple have captured the wonderful diversity of the holiday's traditions in this lavishly illustrated collection of stories and legends, original poems, carols both old and new, and Christmas customs.

Included in these colorful and decorative pages are such stories as the well-loved legend of Baboushka; the stately measures of the classic carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and the rollicking new song "North Pole Express"; descriptions of Christmas food, animals, and plants; a history of Santa Claus; a verse play about shepherds; and poems that are reverent, witty, and touching. This beautiful book, the loving collaboration of a distinguished author, artist, and musician, is the ideal companion for a family Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Poetry, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 1991

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book of international customs. In spite of having read many books about Christmas celebrations around the word, I still learned a lot by reading "Hark."

I wish I still played guitar and that my finger tips were not so sensitive because many of the customs are followed by the music in notes and chords for Christmas carols.

The word "carol" derives from the Greek "choralien" which refers to the singing accompanied by flutes in ancient Greek plays, the CHORUS. Too bad I didn't know this when I taught "Oedipus" and "Antigone."

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compendium of carols, poems, information, and stories related to Christmas, expertly edited by the incomparable Jane Yolen and brought to cheerful life through the illustrations of Tomie dePaola. Here's a shout out to Adam Stemple for the original music arrangements, simple enough for eager novice musicians. Withstands-the-test-of-time (despite its holiday theme).

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed reading this together over Christmas break. It was a fun way to hear different Christmas traditions and sing some classic Christmas carols.

[Rachel {bibliopals} · Rating 3 out of 5]

a collection of poems, songs, and stories from around the world.