The Touch of the Master's Hand

Myra Brooks Welch's poem has become a standard in America's homey repertoire: an old violin is about to be auctioned off cheap to the crowd until the touch of a master's hand reveals the instrument's worth. First published in 1921, the poem's message about the individual worth of those often overlooked strikes a familiar chord in a society struggling to come to terms with its own victims of homelessness, drug abuse, and alienation.The poem is made new with the addition of Greg Newbold's illustrations. Newbold's images — which are rich in detail, and made even more so by his use of color and light and his painterly style — evoke a bygone era that is old-fashioned, small-town, pleasantly nostalgic. Newbold's work in Touch of the Master's Hand has already been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts magazine with a 1996 Award of Merit.