Dean Morrissey

The illustrations almost make this book worthwhile on their own, but you may as well look at them and make up your own story because there's no story to be found in the rhymes. A child named Celestine wanders from one place to the next and we're given some Words of Importance and a moral about how the past is present, but none of these things really seem to mean anything in the context of Celestine's journeys. I guess he does get "home" at the end. The whole thing is kind of just perplexing. show more I guess it's just a feel-good rhyme? show less

The illustrations are lovely enough, but the text is awkward and the story reads like one of the 'instant classics' I so despise. Nobody is fully alive or real - it's workmanlike. And despite the fact this is book 1 of a series, there's an allusion to a previous adventure that's very distracting. It's like a book a well-meaning but non-reading uncle would buy a child. And no, I'm not being a cynical adult - I would not have loved this even when I was actually a child

When Paddy goes on an overnight visit to his grandfather's, he thinks his grandfather's house is bigger and darker and spookier than he remembered. When things start to go bump in the night, Paddy is sure that he's hearing monsters. So Pop does what any grandfather would do -- he builds a monster trap.

The next night, the monster trap is set, baited with a delicious (to a monster) snack that Pop assures Paddy no monster will be able to resist. Paddy waits for a sign that the trap has snared a show more monster, but he soon discovers that the trap doesn't work in quite the way that Pop imagined. show less

The Song of Celestine by James Redfield and Dee Lillegard, and beautifully illustrated by Dean Morrissey, is a children’s book based on the best-seller The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield. The story is told in rhyme, which sometimes feels a little forced. The focus is in “Pay attention—now and to the past. To flowers. To faces....Home. Love. Dream. Share. Rejoice.” Apparently this is the central message of The Celestine Prophesy, but this children’s version comes across as show more superficial without the how and why. show less