Song of Francis and the Animals

Summary: "Baa-baa," sang the lamb."Shoo, go play," said Francis,but the little lamb just grinnedand trotted happily behind the manwho preached to people and dogsand flowers and fish and frogs. With lilting verse and playful imagery, award-winning author Pat Mora celebrates the tender relationship between the beloved saint and the animals he loved. Woodcut artist David Frampton captures the exuberant songs of Francis and the animals in charming, colorful woodcuts that underscore the harmony between humans and the natural world.Inspired by Saint Francis's own reverence and love for animals, this book will encourage readers young and old to join in with the clucks of the chickens, the whirring of the cicadas, and the songs of the nightingale. Quotes:Publishers Weekly"Pat Mora praises in poetry Saint Francis' calming way of communing with creatures great and small in this celebratory picture book, made all the more joyous by Frampton's handsome colored woodcuts."New Mexico Magazine"David Frampton's colorful woodcuts are both bold and detailed. . . . The Francis here has universal appeal as he bonds with the myriad wonders of nature."Kirkus Reviews"Strikingly beautiful woodcuts and an oversized format create a first-rate visual accompaniment to this imaginative story about St. Francis of Assisi. The lyrical text focuses on St. Francis's affinity with animals and describes him simply as a man who preached and sang with ‘people and dogs and flowers and fish and frogs.' . . . This treatment serves well as an introduction to the saint who lived in an down-to-earth fashion."Author Bio: Pat Mora is a literacy advocate and prolific author of poetry, nonfiction, and children's books. Her picture book, This Big Sky (Scholastic), was named a Texas Institute of Letters Best Children's Book; Tomás and the Library Lady (Knopf) was included in Teachers' Choices, a project of the International Reading Association; and My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults (Arte Público Press), was selected for the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age List. Pat Mora lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Visit Pat Mora's website: www.patmora.comDavid Frampton has been writing and illustrating books for young readers for thirty years. Some of his honored works include The Whole Night Through (HarperCollins), My Son John written by Jim Aylesworth (Henry Holt), and Rhyolite written by Diane Siebert (Clarion). David Frampton grew up in Brooklyn, New York and lives in Apex, North Carolina.