#61 of 1001 · September 30, 2020

How poetic, how meditative, how life-affirming, how hypnotically beautiful is this picture book version of The Hymn of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi with illustrations by Tony Wright. Often called the Canticle of the Sun, or Laudes Creaturarum (“Praise of the Creatures”), the hymn is thought to have been written around the year 1224. St. Francis, who believed that commoners should be able to worship in a language they understood, composed it in his native Umbrian dialect of Italian. The text here comes from a 1927 English translation held in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Wright’s watercolor paintings swirl and glow with a mystical energy, emphasizing the hymn’s lyrical and reverent celebration of the wonders of nature. #saintfrancis #saintfrancisofassisi #stfrancis #stfrancisofassisi #hymn #sun #nature #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks