Free Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Katherine Paterson Page A

www.webster.edu/~barrettb/canticle.htm

Praise

    How do you “reimagine” the words of the most beloved saint in the history of Christendom? If I hadn’t been so taken with the samples I saw of Pamela Dalton’s art, I don’t think I’d have tried. But as I began rereading the text of The Canticle of the Sun, with this book in mind, I found my heart, in John Wesley’s words, “strangely warmed.” It was such a wonderful exercise to see myself as close kin to all the rest of the natural world—sun, moon, stars, wind, and weather—even to look death in the face and call her my sister. In the effort to make this Canticle my own song of praise, I understood what Francis meant when, in another of his poems, he declares, “I have come to learn God adores His creation.” *
    —Katherine Paterson
    Editor’s note: It is written that Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) composed the Laudes Creaturarum (“Praise Song of the Creatures”—or as it has often become known, The Canticle of the Sun ) in the final two years of his life, at a time when he was already almost completely blind, in the village of San Damiano, while under the care of Saint Clare and the sisters of her monastery. Francis chose to write in his local Umbrian dialect, rather than the Latin spoken in the church, so that his words could be understood by all.
    Many years ago I saw my first papercuttings. They were such an exciting mystery. How did people do this? I decided to find out. I experimented for a long time, trying different cutting tools, different kinds of paper, and different cutting surfaces. Eventually, I found the combination that worked comfortably for me. The patterns I started with were very simple ones. I tried cutting the paper with one fold, two folds, and three folds, and sometimes no folds at all. Many pieces wound up in the trash can, but I did not give up. Over time, I developed a careful technique, cutting each picture out of a single piece of paper. Then, using a method popular in early nineteenth-century Pennsylvania German communities, I painted the papercuts with watercolors.
    I started going to Italy several years ago to study painting; many times I stayed in Assisi where Saint Francis was born and lived. I came to know about his life and his work: He took on the life of a poor man, not even owning a pair of shoes. He dedicated himself to God by taking care of the sick, the hungry, and the needy. Francis loved all people wherever he went. But he also loved the animals, birds, and all the elements of Nature.
    Saint Francis’s prayer, The Canticle of the Creatures, reminds us to love, to revere, and to take care of this beautiful world in which we live and all the beings who dwell within it.
    —Pamela Dalton

----
    * From “God Would Kneel Down,” by Saint Francis of Assisi, included in Love Poems from God, collected by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin, 1999.

About the Author
    Katherine Paterson has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She received the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Medal as well as the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the body of her work. She writes out of a deep faith for her characters and the worlds they inhabit, and a profound respect for her readers. A passionate promoter of literacy and reading, she currently serves as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She lives with her husband, John, in Barre, Vermont. Visit Katherine Paterson at www.terabithia.com.
    Pamela Dalton has spent more than twenty-five years working in the technique of Scherenschnitte (“scissor cuts”), which has its roots in sixteenth-century Germany and Switzerland, and was brought to the United States by Pennsylvania German settlers in the eighteenth century. Each of her illustrations is cut from one continuous piece of paper. Brother Sun, Sister Moon is her first book for children. She lives and works in Harlemville, New York. Visit Pamela Dalton at