Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World Elizabeth Bush Thuswaldner, Werner Silent Night, Holy Night: A Song for the World; by Werner Thuswaldner and Patricia Crampton; illus. by Robert Ingpen. Minedition/Penguin, 200540p ISBN 0-698-40032-1$16.99 M 7-10 yrs A broken church organ, a simple composition sung to guitar accompaniment at midnight Mass, soldiers who call their own unauthorized Christmas truce under the influence of a beloved Christmas song—many children are familiar with the stories that surround the famous carol. Thuswaldner overembellishes the basics with a poorly integrated look at the beleaguered population of nineteenth century Oberndorf, Austria, and with heavy, florid prose exacerbated by what would appear to be the puzzling consequence of a missing line of text: "Millions of people know the melody, some know the verses, but very few are aware of more than a grace and blessed consolation of beyond the carol." There's a bit about seasonal flooding and an unnamed war, a tad about Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber, and abundant breathless musing on the salutary effect of the hymn on its listeners and singers. Ingpen provides illustrations of war, misery, and romanticized village life in hazy paintings, often obscured by snow, that unfortunately recall cheap greeting [End Page 203] cards as well as Old Masters. Extensive Christmas collections could justify inclusion of this title, but Margaret Hodges' Silent Night (BCCB 12/97) remains the selection of choice. Copyright © 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois