NEW BOOK: Song of the Talanton by Claire Brandenburg

From Conciliar Press



PICTURE BOOK SHOWS SILENT BEAUTY, INTRIGUE OF MONASTICISM

Ben Lomond, CA – Conciliar Press is pleased to announce the release of a captivating new picture book by Claire Brandenburg, author and illustrator of the popular Christian children’s picture book The Monk Who Grew Prayer and several other children’s titles. Song of the Talanton, a soft cover picture book with an accompanying audio CD, takes a unique look at Eastern Orthodox monasticism, focusing on prayer, silence and watchfulness. At the moment of sunrise, a pilgrim visiting a women’s monastery senses Christ’s mystical presence in the rhythmic call of the talanton. Song of the Talanton teaches children to listen and to be ready for God's presence.

Brandenburg was inspired to write Song of the Talanton upon visiting a monastery and “feeling God's loving and powerful presence in the sound of birds singing, the light of the rising sun and the sound of the talanton,” she said. She was also inspired by the desert itself, where sound “carries in a remarkable way, settling on branches, along the tops of peaks like dust blown by a heavenly wind.”

A story that focuses on such a unique sound would be incomplete without an audio component. Song of the Talanton includes an audio CD featuring:

• The tonk, tonk, tonk of a talanton’s call to prayer
• The story Song of the Talanton, read by Claire Brandenburg
• A recording of a large Romanian toaca
• A description of how to make a simple talanton
• Music by Eikona (Shine, Shine, New Jerusalem; Psalm 142; Litany of Fervent Intercession)

Claire Brandenburg received a BFA in art and education from the University of New Mexico. Working in a variety of different art forms for over thirty years, she has shown her work in galleries and museums and has received numerous awards. To learn more about Claire Brandenburg and her books, go to www.clairebrandenburg.com.