A treat for the eye, ear, and heart.
A multimedia tribute to the great picture-book writer in her own words.
This sumptuous compilation not only brings together a dozen songs by the late author of Goodnight Moon, here given new visual life in evocative spreads by 12 award-winning illustrators, but also includes a CD of Brown’s lyrics set to music and performed by Tom Proutt and Emily Gary. As a whole, these nature-based songs look to animals and the seasons to remind children of the pleasures of the outdoors. Illustrators Peter Brown, Floyd Cooper, Blanca Gómez, Satoe Tone, and eight others capture the essence of bees and birds in flight, leaves adrift on the wind, or light, imagined situations like a kitten’s dream or a cat the size of a pussy willow. Musically, a number of the songs, such as the magical “Snowfall,” have a soft, lilting quality sure to help young listeners off to dreamland, while a couple of the more memorable settings might have the opposite effect. The sharp baritone-sax honks of “Buzz, Buzz, Buzz” graphically emulate bees at work “in the solemn heat,” for instance. While the collection is no doubt titled to evoke its author’s most renowned work, overall these songs prove anything but drowsy.
A treat for the eye, ear, and heart. (Picture book/poetry. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4549-0447-2
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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