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Title: The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola ISBN: 0-15-618192-4 Publisher: Voyager Books Pub. Date: 06 September, 1978 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: powerfully moving story
Comment: The Clown of God is one of the most powerfully moving books I have read in a long time. This is the story of the adventures of Giovanni, a poor boy whose ability to entertain brings him renown.
The book is full of beautiful illustrations. Tomie de Paola brings real love to the pictures. Giovanni, the people he meets, and the Italian countryside come alive in de Paola's renderings. The visuals in this book dance with color and emotion. However, there are things that run deeper than pretty pictures in these pages.
Henri Nouwen once wrote:
"There is a deep hole in your being, like an abyss. You will never succeed in filling that hole, because your needs are inexhaustible."
Nouwen essentially said that the only solution in this life is to work near the hole. To avoid the twin temptations of dwelling in your pain or working so much that you drown your pain out with the noise of an overly busy life.
Giovanni is representative of all those who get caught in the snare of these temptations. He carries the hole, yet denies its nature. In his youth he believes his hole to be mere physical hunger. Allowing the rumbling of his stomach to overpower the groaning of the Spirit, he begins performing in order to try and fill his hole. Unfortunately, treating the symptom never cures the disease. As Giovanni grows older he avoids his hole by allowing the din of worldly success and the cheering of the crowds to drown out the insistence of the still, small voice.
Only in the end, broken and unwanted by the world, does Giovanni heed the call within. It is a truly beautiful scene when he does. Get the book and witness it for yourself.
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful Story for Children
Comment: Tomie de Paolo's The Clown of God is by far, one of the most beautiful stories for children around. I was read this story as a child and it still is one of my all time favorites. The beautiful, soft-colored prints throughout the book will delight children along with the story about Giovanni, the poor boy who becomes a juggling clown in a circus. Giovanni goes on to become a famous juggler, but towards the end of his life, he once again becomes poor. He finds himself back home in Sorrento on Christmas Eve and performs a miracle in his local church. A story that will delight both children and adults.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good story, not just for Catholic children
Comment: I read about this book here on Amazon.com, and wasn't sure I'd like it. We are not Catholic, and just from the review here alone, I knew that Catholicism was almost presumed. How would I explain the multitude of differences in our faiths to my five year old son? A priest versus a pastor. What on earth is a "brother," or a monk? Offering gifts to a statue of the Christ child, when we don't believe in making any graven image of God?
I checked the book out of the library to see what I thought. Yes, its Catholic flavor cannot be missed, but the message was an excellent one. The lesson the brothers taught Giovanni was one that I took to heart, that everything we do should be done for the glory of God. Though Giovanni wrote it off at the time, he ultimately got the message, and gave the best gift that he could to the Lord Jesus.
The only reason why I didn't give it five stars, was that my son didn't like the ending. He thought it was sad that Giovanni died, and therefore didn't especially want to hear it again. I used it, however, as an opportunity to teach him about death. Giovanni came to love the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus loved him, so he went to be with Jesus when he died. That isn't a bad thing; rather it is good! There is no need to be sad that Giovanni died, because he went to a place where things were much better for him.
Part of me wants to give it five stars for the teaching opportunity about death that it provided! But I guess I'll leave it as I did. Too bad I couldn't give it a 4.5!
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Title: Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley, Itoko Maeno ISBN: 1559420286 Publisher: Marsh Media Pub. Date: August, 1992 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz, Pat Cummings ISBN: 0064432564 Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 30 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno, Kazue Mizumura ISBN: 1930900201 Publisher: Purple House Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha ISBN: 1930900163 Publisher: Purple House Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews, Ian Wallace ISBN: 088899043X Publisher: Groundwood Books Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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