Bookverdict.com

PreS-Gr 2 Mora's narrative about the Saint and his tender relationships with wild creatures is more poetry than story. The lyrical text describes how Francis speaks with birds, tames a wolf that threatens the people of Gubbio, and re-creates the manger scene with the help of villagers, lambs, an ox, and a donkey. Throughout, the animals sing and call back to him. Some Italia...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Two picture books tell of St. Francis's loving ways with all creatures fierce and mild. Egielski expands on an event recounted in The Little Flowers of St. Francis—the miraculous taming of a wolf who had been terrorizing the city of Gubbio. Newly added are three military forays, mandated by the "Contessa di Gubbio" over Saint Francis's objections: a knight, an army, and "a great war machine" attack the villainous superwolf, and each in turn is demolished. Depiction of the mayhem is blood-free yet graphic; crowded, energetic scenes are handsomely orchestrated, with signature touches of humor (the wolf picks his awe-inspiring teeth with the devoured knight's lance). Finally, ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More