4th October World Animal Day St Francis of Assisi

 World Animal Day is an international day of action celebrated annually on October 4, the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy who wished to highlight the plight of endangered species.

"Saint Francis of Assisi has always held a fascination for members of all faiths, and his story continues to inspire and motivate us more than seven hundred years after his death. Born into a wealthy family, he led a dissolute life as a young man. Then one day he had a conversion experience while passing a poor leper's hut. From that day on, Francis dedicated his life to helping the poor and outcasts of society and to teaching respect for all living things. He was joined by a noblewoman, Clare, who was soon known as Sister Moon to Francis's Brother Sun." (Amazon) He is responsible for the famous prayer that begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.", the Canticle of the Sun and many stories about how he tamed a wolf and talked to animals. 

Below is a collage of all the wonderful picture books that feature Saint Francis. Lots of well-known authors and illustrators have presented their view of this favoured saint. See Tomie dePaola, Brian Wildsmith, Fiona French, Pat Mora, Demi, Margaret Mayo, Reeve Lindberg and Katherine Patterson. You might even be able to find a favourite of mine, the very old and now out-of-print How St Francis Tamed the Wolf by Gerald Rose.

There are so many wonderful books about animals, including Walker's wonderful Nature Storybooks, anything by Steve Jenkins, those large, beautifully illustrated books with flaps by Francesco Pittau Gervais, anything fro National Geographic... World Animal Day is such a good excuse for a display in the library.

27th June Fiona French (1944)

Each of Fiona French's picture books seems to explore adifferent style of art. They are so detailed and meticulous that they look like labours of love. I first met her work with Snow White in New York, a Kate Greenaway Medal winner, which sets the Snow White story in New York in the Jazz Age of the 1920s. The characters are less familiar than the plot. Snow White is a jazz singer who is protected by seven jazz musicians from her enemy, the Queen of the Underworld. This is somewhat too sophisticated for my clientele, but I love it.

She has other picture books which are much more accessible to the children I teach, and still just as beautiful and amazing. In the library we have Bethlehem, a nativity story, using the words from the bible and illustrated as if done in stained glass. We have The Smallest Samurai a Japanese version of the Tom Thumb story and Pepi and the Secret Names which is written by Jill Paton Walsh and illustrated by Fiona French in beautiful Egyptian-influenced art.

And to finish Refugee Week, The Whispering Cloth by Pegi Deitz Shea which tells the story of a young girl who remembers painful events in her life in a Thai refugee camp by sewing them into a pa'ndau or traditional story cloth.