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The Friendly Beasts: A Medieval French Carol
In this illustrated version of the medieval French carol, the animals in the humble stable surrounding the baby Jesus describe the various and very personal gifts they each give to the new baby "Jesus, our brother, kind and good." Told and/or sung in octosyllabic rhyming couplets, it conveys the simplicity and humility associated with farm animals, babies, and the Savior Jesus. Each animal tells what it gives to make the new baby comfortable, welcomed, and unafraid. He is thoughtfully cared for and warmly celebrated by all who surround him in the stable. Each animal's gift to the Savior is unique and precious because it reflects something only that animal can give--and all are gifts that cannot be bought.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
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July 3, 2020
Taking the classic Christmas carol of The Friendly Beasts as her text, artist Jan Burlingham presents her own illustrated version of the song in this little holiday picture-book. The animals of the Nativity Story, from the shaggy brown donkey who carried Mary into Bethlehem to the dove who sang the Christ Child to sleep in his manger, each describe the gift they gave Emmanuel. The book concludes with the musical notation for the carol, and a brief historical note...
Having read quite a few presentations of this carol in picture-book form, two of which - Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol and Rebecca St. James' The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol - describe it as hailing from England, I was curious to see Jan Burlingham's book, which (as should be obvious from its sub-title) attributes it to France. As it happens, the text here isn't any different from those other editions. This carol combines the tune of a 12th-century Latin hymn known as the Orientis Partibus with words written long after the fact, by Englishman Robert Davis. It isn't clear to me whether Davis translated or adapted existing lyrics, or whether these simple but beautiful words were entirely his own creation, but Dr. Hawn, a professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology has stated that it is an error to describe this as "an old English Christmas carol," mentioning Tomie dePaola's book specifically. The original hymn was used as part of "The Donkey's Festival" (La Fête de l'âne), in 13th-century Sens, France - something discussed in Burlingham's note.
So it is that Burlingham has the right of it, according to music scholars, in describing this as "a Medieval French Carol." Despite that fact, and my interest in it, I found this presentation of the carol to be the least appealing, of any I have read. The artwork simply didn't appeal to me, with its cartoon-like sensibility. The depiction of the Christ Child in particular, with his dot eyes, just wasn't to my taste. Still, these things vary, and some might find the artwork here - particularly the animals - cute. This is a fairly obscure title (I had to request it through Inter-Library Loan, and there don't seem to be many online reviews), and I'm not sure it's worthwhile going to great lengths to track it down. On the other hand, if one has access to it and enjoys Christmas carol picture-books, it might be worth a look.
Having read quite a few presentations of this carol in picture-book form, two of which - Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol and Rebecca St. James' The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol - describe it as hailing from England, I was curious to see Jan Burlingham's book, which (as should be obvious from its sub-title) attributes it to France. As it happens, the text here isn't any different from those other editions. This carol combines the tune of a 12th-century Latin hymn known as the Orientis Partibus with words written long after the fact, by Englishman Robert Davis. It isn't clear to me whether Davis translated or adapted existing lyrics, or whether these simple but beautiful words were entirely his own creation, but Dr. Hawn, a professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology has stated that it is an error to describe this as "an old English Christmas carol," mentioning Tomie dePaola's book specifically. The original hymn was used as part of "The Donkey's Festival" (La Fête de l'âne), in 13th-century Sens, France - something discussed in Burlingham's note.
So it is that Burlingham has the right of it, according to music scholars, in describing this as "a Medieval French Carol." Despite that fact, and my interest in it, I found this presentation of the carol to be the least appealing, of any I have read. The artwork simply didn't appeal to me, with its cartoon-like sensibility. The depiction of the Christ Child in particular, with his dot eyes, just wasn't to my taste. Still, these things vary, and some might find the artwork here - particularly the animals - cute. This is a fairly obscure title (I had to request it through Inter-Library Loan, and there don't seem to be many online reviews), and I'm not sure it's worthwhile going to great lengths to track it down. On the other hand, if one has access to it and enjoys Christmas carol picture-books, it might be worth a look.
Displaying 1 of 1 review