Auld Lang Syne

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Every New Year’s Eve, people around the world gather in circles to
clasp hands and sing a song. The words to the tune are more than 200
years old and in dialect: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot / and
never brought to mind? / Should auld acquaintance be forgot, / and days
of auld lang syne? / And there’s a hand my trusty fiere, / and
give’s a hand of thine, / And we’ll take a right guid-willie waught,
/ For auld lang syne.”

This book profiles Robbie Burns, the com-poser of that song. Findon’s
narrative is written in the first person, as if Burns himself were
telling the story. Although her text does shed some light on the origins
of the song, not much is revealed about its composer. Burns was a man
who would openly weep while reciting verse; unfortunately Findon’s
text does not quite capture this passion, even while she writes about
it. Burns’s ready wit was as renowned as his tears; this goes
unmentioned in the text. Finally, with “Auld Lang Syne” as the
subject, the story might also have told of the importance of New
Year’s Day to a Scot like Burns, a holiday that still eclipses all
other celebrations in Scotland, including Christmas. Illustrator Ted
Nasmith’s illustrations are lovely, but they too seem to be
celebrating a myth, not a real man. Recommended with reservations.