A Song for the King Written by Katrina Nannestad, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
Published by ABC Kids, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Picture Book review by Joy Lawn (Joy in Books) at Paperbark Words blog
“Joy! Love! Peace!” (A Song for the King)
A Song for the King is the best Australian Christmas book since 2008’s Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King. Remarkably, for a seasonal festival picture book, Applesauce was shortlisted by the CBCA. Deservedly so.
A Song for the King also boasts an extraordinary creative team. Katrina Nannestad is best known for her historical middle fiction. Her re-telling of the Nativity story here is playful, refined and wise. Freya Blackwood’s illustrations epitomise the joy, love and peace of the tale.
The book cover shows three animals in a state of rhapsody — a bright, shining star hints at the source of their delight. On opening the book, the endpapers – full of sparkling stars – highlight the radiance to come. The title page changes the perspective with an earthy farmyard scene of a rooster and hens pecking and perched on clay jars. They all face right, inviting readers to turn the pages and enter the tale.
We next meet the animal protagonists. “Netta [the donkey] was born with a song in her heart. It was loud and squeaky and went like this: Joy! Joy! Joy!” She frolics and sings in a setting that suggests historical rural and small-town Middle East. “Esther [the sheep] was born with a song in her heart. It was high and warbling and went like this: Love! Love! Love!” In simpatico, they sing duets all day long, “Joy! Love! Joy! Love!” “Uzi [the camel] was born with a song in his heart. Although he thought of it more as a song in his hump. It was deep and rumbling and went like this: Peace! Peace! Peace!” The animals’ three voices together formed a choir singing, “Joy! Love! Peace!”
The animals thought they sounded wonderful, even good enough to sing for a king. However, the townsfolk disagreed and sent them to be sold at the market.
Netta’s new home was safe: Joseph treated her well, and Mary “sang of joy and love and peace”. However, Netta’s song stayed locked in her heart until she travelled with the family to Bethlehem. There a baby boy was born in a stable … The story’s well-known culmination is heartwarming and transcendent.
A Song for the King is an awe-inspiring book. Katrina Nannestad’s empathetic characterisation and message of acceptance, alongside judicious structural repetition, enable her narrative to unfold and spiral consummately into a perfect finale. Freya Blackwood’s illustrations delineate the setting, enhance the individual personalities of the characters and create wonder. The words and pictures are gentle, surprising and profound.
Joy, love, peace to all this Christmas.
A Song for the King at HarperCollins Books
Other Christmas book posts:
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