"Swirled and set in a strange, medieval world," he witnesses wars, wanders into a flower-filled field, fights a warrior to keep his "energy" and is finally told to go home by a flock of butterflies (and led by a deer), all the while pondering such platitudes as "Pay attention?now and to the past," "Love," "Dream," "Share," "Rejoice." . Morrissey's (The Great Kettles) gleaming oil paintings, with their painstaking detail, masterful use of light and deep, saturated colors, remain grounded in reality, with a delicate hint of spiritual forces at work (e.g., a swirling path of moon and stars). His artwork, which particularly in the still-life scenes, recalls the works of the Dutch masters?plants the seeds for Celestine's epiphany, showing a glimpse of the boy's room in an early scene, with all the elements (flowers, a butterfly, blocks that spell out "home") foreshadowed. All ages.

From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2-Celestine, a neat kid undaunted by being dressed in a jerkin and toting a lute, is having a bad day. Feeling "unloved, unheard, unseen" makes him "cold, afraid, alone." Out of the blue, some leaves, ants, a door, clouds, and a shadow spell out bits and pieces of a life-changing message: "'Pay attention-now and to the past./To flowers. To faces.' He was home at last./And the choir sang in a single voice,/'Love. Dream. Share. Rejoice!'" That's it, folks. The text mentions struggle, a warrior, a fight-but all readers ever see is the tousle-haired cherub posing amiably with some quasi-medieval props. This sweet message has been very successful for James Redfield in his adult book The Celestine Prophecy, and this decorative volume is likely to be cherished by parents looking for insights on the most uncontroversial level. Who could argue, even if it's in doggerel, when the hero, painted in superrealistic oils on canvas, is so photogenic? Like him, this book will never be alone-it will fly off library shelves into the spiritual vacuum out there. Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Little Brown & Co 0-316-73923-5 / 9780316739238
Hardcover As New Condition 

Price: 15.33 USD