Raschka, one of the reigning risk-takers of the picture book world, undertakes yet another challenge in this interpretation of a traditional Shaker song, albeit less successfully. Using oil crayon on pastel paper, he creates an exceedingly handsome stained glass effect, with heavy black lines juxtaposed against hues as warm as a flurry of autumn leaves. As always, Raschka's vision is unique, and here he translates the Shaker musical paean to a simplified life into a sort of peaceable kingdom, where a cat, blue jay, rabbit, squirrel and turtle dwell together in harmony with nature. The artwork is undeniably glorious, but, as appealing as this serene, spiritual vision is, readers may miss the joy implicit in this Shaker song that is meant for dancing. Adults will likely find themselves drawn to search closely for visual metaphor and meaning, and to reflect on the rather sophisticated ideas in the lyrics ('When true simplicity is gained,/ To bow and to bend/ we shan't be asham'd/ To turn, turn/ will be our delight/ Till by turning, turning/ we come 'round right'). But aside from the pleasing look of the paintings, youngsters may be left a bit at sea. The music to Simple Gifts is included, along with a brief afterword describing the Shaker community.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Raschka slides easily from a visual interpretation of jazz rhythms (Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop , Mysterious Thelonious ) to the soulful strains of a Shaker hymn. He notes inspiration culled from a late painting by Paul Klee. This stylistic choice is surprising and yet perfectly suited to the text. As the pages turn, bold black lines define, in succession, a cat, blue jay, squirrel, turtle, and rabbit in motion against a background of dynamic, geometric shapes that suggest leaves and sunlight. The texture of the pastel paper shows through the oil crayon outlines and sweeps of interior color, adding energy and interest to the design. Most impressive, however, is the way Raschka choreographs the animals through the narrative. An author's note (printed above the melody) explains that the song was originally sung quite rapidly while Shaker men and women danced in circular patterns. Raschka portrays a playful, geometrically jumbled, hide-and-seek scene for the verse, 'And when we find ourselves in the place just right'; then the animals are shown cuddling sweetly in a calmer close-up, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.' He builds a joyous finale of flora and fauna swirling over several pages 'To turn, turn will be our delight.' The hand-lettered, black cursive text against a band of gold or tan provides a fluid, childlike accompaniment that matches the mood and palette of the images to a tee. Simply lovely. -- Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
. . .[A] lush, complex, nearly abstract setting of the well-known hymn. . .something of a homage to the work of Paul Klee.
In the normal course of picture-book events, introducing a cat on the first spread and a bird on the second means that something like a plot is about to come together on the third. Not here, though-the cat and bird are joined by a turtle, a rabbit, and a squirrel to illustrate the optimism of the Shakers 'turning, turning, [to] come 'round right.' Simple Gifts is a simple tune, and it's a proud moment in our cultural heritage that Raschka does right by in his opulent oil-crayon paintings. The pictures boldly define the animals and the natural world with thick black lines that have a kind of magisterial generosity; the autumnal coloring evokes the season of thanks while the bright blue of the bird bestows a celestial glint. With a look that is both humble (the words of the song are printed in a modest crayon-cursive) and knowing (expressionism verging upon abstraction is the visual note here), this book is a beautiful object, although probably of greater appeal to adults than to children. While the song and the paintings both 'come 'round right,' they don't really need each other. One wonders what the Shakers, with their distrust of counterpoint, might have thought.
Raschka continues his exploration of visualized music, in this case the 150-year-old Shaker hymn of the title. This book may not be as esoteric nor contrapuntal as Mysterious Thelonious (1997), but it is just as gorgeously illustrated. Raschka deploys an elegant palette of blue, yellow, brown, green, and red to fashion close-up, boldly outlined images of creatures—cat, rabbit, bird, turtle, etc.—sharing a landscape tangled with flowers and grasses. It's not too far off the mark to imagine that the great slabs of oil-crayon colors suggest the whirling circle dances of the Shakers, particularly when the hymn is placed in its historical context; there is abundant energy in the artwork, with its undeniable sense of warmth and community. Every spread has a band of color in which Raschka has hand-lettered the words of the song, which is also included with musical notations in an author's note. Ages 5 - 9.
