THE INK GARDEN OF BROTHER THEOPHANE

Brother Theophane copies manuscripts in his monastery in “the mountains of Mourne,” but he also hides crumbs in his sleeve to sprinkle on the windowsill for the birds, and sometimes he gazes too long at the sun dancing on the pages before him. In simple rhyme, Millen conveys how, when woolgathering Theophane is banished to make ink, he finds berries, hazel wood, crocus and cabbage leaves to make many colors. The brown-garbed monks, turned from their brown inks to colors, renew their illuminations to reflect the many-hued world. The text includes a few verses in Theophane’s voice, which are based on scraps of poems written by Irish monks of the Middle Ages. Wisnewski’s gorgeous hand-colored prints are composed of strong black line and interlaced color and pattern. There are echoes of the Book of Kells and other Celtic illumination, but children will especially respond to the borders of apples and berries, the patterned stonework and the black-and-white cat that appears on almost every page. (author’s note, bibliography, websites) (Picture book. 6-9)