Mary Engelbreit’s
Peace on Earth: A Christmas Collection is a 2013 children’s book, her
celebration of what she loves about Christmas.
This isn’t a collection of stories—Peace on Earth is comprised of the text of various Christmas hymns,
the accounts of the birth of Jesus from Luke and the visit of the magi from
Matthew, and numerous poems and short essays from other authors, all with illustrations
and borders by Engelbreit.
This latter is, of course, why nearly everyone who picks
this book up does so, and Engelbreit’s art is quite good, as you’d expect. Her
style is distinct, her colors are warm and vibrant, and, with the exception of
the fact that she misspells “magi” in one of her illustrations, everything
looks excellent.
But while the art is great, the text is largely unimpressive
and uninteresting. The hymns we know already, and many of the poems—nothing else
really stands out, and you can read through this book in about five minutes. Neither
my wife nor my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, both of whom are big fans of
other Engelbreit works, were particularly impressed with Peace on Earth, although they did enjoy looking at the pictures
once or twice.
Peace on Earth is
perfectly good if you’re looking for a collection of Engelbreit’s Christmas
art. But don’t ask it for any more than that.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT
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Disclosure of Material
Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to
write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am
disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:
“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
