We Three Kings

by Gennady Spirin

Simple piano chords and torn-paper collage illustrations accompany all five verses of the classic Christmas carol that describes the arrival of three kings at the birthplace of the Christ child.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Music, Christian

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Gennady Spirin (1948- ) is a Russian painter and children's book illustrator. A graduate of the Surikov School of Fine Art in Moscow and the Moscow Stroganov Institute of Art, he is noted for his unique style of watercolor illustration. He has illustrated works by classic authors such as William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy as well as children's books by contemporary celebrities. His oil paintings hang in public and private galleries throughout the world, and he has been profiled by The New York Times. His depiction of The Nutcracker was selected by Saks Fifth Avenue as the centerpiece of their famous Christmas display in 1997 and 1998. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, Spirin immigrated with his wife and sons to the United States, ultimately settling in Princeton, NJ, where he has lived and worked since.

(source: Wikipedia)


Alternate spellings:
Gennadij Spirin
Gennadi Spirin
Генадий Спирин
ガナディ・スピリン

Reviews

[Kathryn]

I cannot deny that Spirin's art is gorgeous, rich and detailed. In "We Three Kings" there is a classical European style to the artwork while also having a distinctive Eastern flavor. However, I did not feel that the book presentation is particularly outstanding. The story merely reprints the lyrics for the song which, while creating a good foundation for some lovely artwork, is probably not all that appealing to children since it uses big words and is not always the cheerful or cozy Christmas type favored for family holiday storytime. Also, the artwork is repetitive--each time the "chorus" of the song is repeated the SAME artwork is shown. It's a stunning spread of angels but, alas, I was quite tired of it by the third viewing and wondered why we couldn't have had more variety--I also would have been rather annoyed if I had purchased the book and found so many repeats! I will certainly seek out more of Spirin's works and hope that they are put to better storytelling use and hold more variety.

[Linda Lipko]

This is an exquisite book. Anyone who appreciates art should obtain a copy. I spent over an hour looking at each detailed page. It is breathtaking!!!! There are no words to suffice. You need to see this to believe it.

[Karina]

The illustrations are fantastic, and the baby loved my singing especially the refrain. He was smiling. Others are commenting about the repetitiveness, but children really like that: if something is good they want to see it again, hear it again. Children like predictability. It's only adults that think it's weird, and want more variety.

[Abigail]

Russian-born and educated artist Gennady Spirin, whose previous picture-book forays into the world of Christmas include The Twelve Days of Christmas , The Night Before Christmas , and The Christmas Story (not to mention the holiday collection, Joy to the World: A Family Christmas Treasury ), here turns his attention to that beloved Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are. Using the lyrics of the song as his text, Spirin depicts the Three Kings (or Magi), their marvelous gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and the glorious host of angels that oversee their journey.

Written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., an American Episcopal minster, in the nineteenth-century - the date given on the dust-jacket blurb here in 1857, although I understand that it was first published in 1863, in Hopkins' Carols, Hymns, and Songs - We Three Kings has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols, and I enjoyed reading it this morning on the train, while also listening to a recording of it by The Deller Consort. That said, although I love the carol, and appreciated the artwork, I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I expected to be. Spirin's paintings here are beautiful, but their details are rather blurred, and the repetition of the scene with the angels - the same exact painting is used, each time the refrain of the song appears - began to be rather tiring after a while, despite its loveliness.

Despite these issues, overall I enjoyed this picture-book, and I recommend it to fans of the carol (it's the only picture-book presentation of We Three Kings with which I am familiar) and to fans of Gennady Spirin.

[Emmy]

I love that the text of this book was literally the song "We Three Kings" since that's my favorite Christmas carol, and it was fun to really pour over it. The only change I would have made would be to limit the refrain somewhat. As the book currently stands (and this reviewer is assuming that y'all are familiar with the song) the refrain comes in after every verse. So, we have the opening lines, then refrain, "Star of wonder, star of light--" and then the first king talks about his gift of gold, then "Star of wonder, star of light--", and the second king with the Frankincense, and "Star of wonder--", and that gets somewhat tedious by the end. I would have included the refrain the first time and then maybe after the third king, but not each and every time (especially because it's the same illustration for that page each time, too!)

That being said, I'm not sure that this book is quite right for kids. Not because it's inappropriate, but unless you're playing the song while they look at the pictures, it might not be very exciting. Still, I really enjoyed it.

[Rachel]

Beautiful illustrations. I played the song for my 4 year old as we flipped through the pages. She’s a little young to appreciate it but I may get this one for our Christmas book collection.

[Clay Davis]

A book that does justice to the song.

[Hugo's Mom]

Gorgeous book. Spirin is a master. Should be in every Christmas picture book collection.

[Lauren Duffy]

This picture book is a quick read because it’s just the lyrics from the Christmas carol. The extremely elaborate illustrations are really what make this book. I read it to my son during our homeschool Christmas unit and it did lead to some good discussions about the 3 Wise Men and what they brought, as well as a good pictorial description of the heavenly host. If you’re looking for a book focusing on the true meaning of Christmas this is a nice one to pick up.

[Ruth]

absolutely gorgeous illustrated version of the song. All the verses are illustrated, and the music is included in the back. By the time we got to the end of the book, I was totally done with the same illustrated chorus on every other two page spread. It would have been better if the illustrations were different each time.

[Susan]

The illustrator uses the song as the basis for this elaborate and highly detailed depiction of the story of the three kings and their journey to Bethlehem. While masterful, the same illustration is used multiple times for the chorus, and although lovely, I didn’t love this book as much as some others by Spirin.

[Kami]

The illustrations were fabulous and ornate, BUT the ones with the same repeated lines from the song (the story is just the song), it has the same picture over and over again. So annoying. But my kids did like it.

[Mary Taylor]

wonderful illustrations!

[Cimorene]

Ornate and detailed illustrations convey the magic of this tale, and match the lyrics of the carol perfectly.

[Set]

This is a beautiful illustrated book with the words to We Three Kings of Orient with a lovely sheet music at the end for piano.

[Lindsay]

The words to the carol We Three Kings accompanied by beautiful illustrations

[Amanda]

Such rich illustrations to go with one of my favorite Christmas carols growing up.

[Sara]

This book is the song "We Three Kings" in beautiful paintings. I thought it would be more of a story form than hymn in paintings. The paintings are beautiful.

[Christabelle]

My kids said, “It has really good pictures!”

[Jill LitNavigator]

Timeless story with the most beautiful illustrations. Shouldn't say that I 'read' it because honestly, I 'sang' the story.

[Catie]

The lyrics of the Christmas carol, beautifully illustrated.

[Ashlyn Haddock]

Genre: picture book- religious picture book
Awards: none
Audience: k-2nd grade
A: I know that this book fits into the category because its talking about when the 3 kings went to give presents to baby Jesus, which is also a Christmas song.
B: I really loved the texture in this book, I really felt like I could reach out and pet the horses and feel the grass on my finger. It made the book intriguing to read and exiting to find out what I could imagine touching.
C: I would probably use this book if I was teaching about different cultures or religions and was on the topic of Christian holidays.
D: What was the repeated line in the book?
"O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light."

[Barbara]

Beautifully illustrated, though I did think that it was a bit of a cheat using exactly the same picture for the chorus every time! I'm sure I'll get this out and enjoy it at Christmas for years to come.

[Marianne]

Here's one of the most beautifully illustrated Christmas book. Definitely a keeper and one to have in your collection of Christmas books. It is the song "We Three Kings" Highly recommend it.

[Karla Strand]

Absolutely beautiful illustrations to accompany the traditional song/story inthis volume.

[Shauna]

The words to the song and BEAUTIFUL artwork

[Tanya Wadley]

Nice Christmas book with cool illustrations. The words are the song We Three King of Orient Are... all the verses.

[Teri]

Fine for a christmas sing-along book--wish the illustrations were better. I'm not one for a "haloed" baby Jesus, or Mary, or all the angels.

[Sharon]

Beautiful book about one of my favorite caroles.

[Rachel]

Review to follow soon.