Sing in Praise, a collection of 25 hymns and accompanying stories written by Opal Wheeler and illustrated by Marjorie Torrey, received a Caldecott Honor award in 1947. This lesser-known book was difficult to find, even with interlibrary loan services. Each story is in some way related to the writing of the hymn, its author, or the meaning of the words.
1. “Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed.” – These lovely, old-fashioned pictures, some in watercolors and some pencil sketches, have clear lines and a relaxing quality.
2. “Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept.” – Each hymn has its own illustration relating in some way to the theme of the song.
3. “Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept.”– These old-fashioned illustrations this seem appropriate, as all of these beloved Christian songs have been sung by congregations for over a century.
4. “Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures.” – There is no ongoing plot, but the theme of each hymn does relate in some way to each picture.
5. “Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.” – While these are lovely pictures, I believe that modern-day children may find many of them difficult to relate to in the world with which they are familiar.