In the House of Happiness: A Book of Prayer and Praise

by Neil Philip, Isabelle Brent (Illustrations)

This small treasure of a prayer book includes 58 short, accessible selections from all over the world, divided into thematic sections and richly illustrated. Prayers of the great world religions mix with tribal chants, folk rhymes, and poems of praise and devotion to celebrate morning and evening, the beauty of the natural world, loving, giving, and grace. Together the selections convey a strong sense of the intrinsic kinship of all humanity.

Isabelle Brent’s opulent illustrations, with glowing gold highlights and illuminated initials, were inspired by the art in medieval Books of Hours. This unique and joyous collection will appeal to a wide range of readers; the small size and ribbon marker make it a perfect gift, just right for private meditation. Introduction, acknowledgments.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2003

About the author

Neil Philip is a writer, folklorist and poet. He is married to the artist Emma Bradford, and lives in the Cotswolds, England. Neil loves words, poetry, and the art of storytelling in all its forms. Among his many books are A Fine Anger, Victorian Village Life, The Cinderella Story, The Penguin Book of English Folktales, Mythology (with Philip Wilkinson), The Great Mystery, War and the Pity of War, The New Oxford Book of Childrens Verse, The Tale of Sir Gawain, Horse Hooves & Chicken Feet, and The Adventures of Odysseus. Neil has contributed to numerous journals, including The Times, and Signal: Approaches to Childrens Books, and has also written for stage, screen, and radio. His work has won numerous awards and honours, including the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society and the Literary Criticism Book Award of the Childrens Literature Association. Outside of the storied world, Neil is passionate about cats, art, music, France, food & wine, and friendship.

Reviews

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet book of prayers from many styles or faith.

[Bailing Lue · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The instinct to pray seems deeply rooted in us, and the prayers of all religions express the same basic hopes, dreams, and fears."
I love the different types of prayers, songs, praise and hymns in this. Aside from the prayers being universal, each of these cultures believe in a being greater than themselves, whether its a god or goddess, a spirit or nature itself. I had too many favorites to pick, but the main set seems to be from Native American and Asian cultures. In some of the European and American ones I feel as though if more recalled or used some of these today the world would be better... while a couple kinda shows where we started to decline as a human race.