Simple Gifts is one of the very few hymns that all Americans treasure. In churches, at graduation and wedding ceremonies, on concert and ballet stages, and especially in homes and schools, it is a perennial favorite.

Now the acclaimed and ever-innovative artist Chris Raschka has transformed this treasured Shaker hymn into a lavish picture book.

In Raschka's hands an irresistible cat, the bluebird of happiness, a sweet rabbit, a calm turtle, and the flowers that bloom, bend, and bow, all "Come 'round right."