Readers, too, may want to return to these explorations over and over.
Twenty-six poems with varied structures offer quiet observations of the natural world.
Vanderwater’s studies are spare and sometimes personal. Loosely cast as a series of forest visits at different times of the year, they focus both on the large, as in the opening “Invitation,” and the small—fiddleheads, lichens, a cardinal, a squirrel. The poet’s imagination invites readers and listeners inside her subjects’ heads. A chickadee considers taking food from a child’s hand; an owlet worries about its first flight. She listens to the voices of snowflakes and maples. Some poems describe the forest visitor’s actions: In one haiku, she plays with a rotting branch; in another, she marvels at the taste of wintergreen. Two children enjoy the surprise of a mushroom puffball. Listeners will appreciate language play like the tree frog’s: “Hoping. / Hopping. / High above. / Crooning. / Plopping. / Finding love.” The imagery is fresh and original; it’s accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem’s subject add to the appeal. Some are vignettes, others show a child or a family enjoying the out-of-doors. Although the same young girl appears in these pictures, her clothing and apparent age vary, implying a series of encounters over many years.
Readers, too, may want to return to these explorations over and over. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)Pub Date: March 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-618-84349-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
Lovely pictures newly elucidate this renowned, euphonious work.
A picture-book adaptation of Frost’s pensive poem.
Its four rhyming quatrains are divided into six couplets interleaved with several wordless double spreads; the last four lines each appear on a separate page. Notably, Lynch visually subverts several of the poem’s customary narrative interpretations, depicting a young, light-skinned rider astride a dappled gray horse. While the poem’s line “He gives his harness bells a shake” implies a horse-drawn wagon, Lynch supplies a bell-trimmed bridle instead. Such innovations shift the poem’s authorial voice away from that of the venerable poet, adding a fresh layer of mystery to the purpose of this traveler’s journey. The narrator’s clothing, suggestive of the late 19th or early 20th century, includes a long dress, a belted jacket, a sturdy, wide-brimmed hat, and thick work gloves; a bedroll is stowed behind the saddle. Where the poem mildly personifies the horse, who “must think it queer / To stop without a farmhouse near,” Lynch depicts the dismounted rider fondly cradling the animal’s head as twin puffs of breath exit his nostrils. Belying this “darkest evening of the year,” Lynch illuminates the blue-grays of snow-laden conifers and frozen lake with a pallid gold winter sunset and a fleeting moon. Variable perspective—from bird’s-eye to close-up—bestows a quasi-cinematic sense as the coming dawn draws the rider’s furtive look. Endpapers bracket the journey, from twilit village to sunup, horse and rider long gone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Lovely pictures newly elucidate this renowned, euphonious work. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2914-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A charming exploration of children’s special relationship with nature.
The story of a young Black boy who “fell in love with a field.”
The book opens with a peaceful scene of Emile sitting in a field overrun with wildflowers of various colors. This is his favorite haunt, where he and his little black dog spend countless hours undisturbed, daydreaming and communing with blossoms and insects. Emile—who often whispers lovingly to the field and regards it as a sentient companion—reflects on all the things the field will never get to experience. Although the field knows the four seasons and “how many stars / there were / and just how far,” it will never get to see the sea and skyscrapers. When winter comes and snow covers the field, Emile worries, wondering where the field goes when it disappears. And when some noisy children invade the field to sled and build snowpals, Emile hates that he has to share his beloved sanctuary, until his dad teaches him that love is not about possession but appreciation. Although some readers may pause at the unconventional punctuation, Young’s gentle, sparely worded narrative endearingly captures the animistic, magical thinking of children and the joy of tranquil childhood hours spent in nature. The impressionistic, atmospheric artwork—rendered in watercolor and ink—underscores the dreamy, spontaneous nature of Emile’s outdoor adventures and features open compositions that create a sense of expansiveness. All characters present Black except one White background character.
A charming exploration of children’s special relationship with nature. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-984850-42-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Make Me a World
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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