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MOON’S CLOUD BLANKET

Name: MOON’S CLOUD BLANKET
Author: Rose Anne St. Romain
ISBN: 1-56554-922-8

by Rose Anne St. Romain & illustrated by Joan Waites ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2003

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St. Romain, in her first published work, shows that she is a master storyteller with this Native American legend from Louisiana. During a flood, a woman and her children seek refuge in the giant cypress trees of the bayou. High in the branches the three cling together for warmth as night arrives and the moon comes out. Fearing that they will freeze to death, the woman implores the moon to help them, and she does. By drawing clouds near her and weaving all night, the moon fashions the most fragile of blankets with which to cover the family and keeps them warm until the flood finally recedes and the family is able to go home. Over the years, the moon’s blanket is taken to other locations and becomes known as Spanish moss. No documentation is given for Waites’s depiction of furry-looking garments and shoes worn by each of the family members or for the palmetto hut depicted as round, but without the willow or cypress poles normally thought to have supported the rounded roof of palmetto fronds and grass rope. While this is a straightforward telling that will engage the reader over and over again, the watercolor illustrations, while adequate, are not of the same stellar quality. An optional purchase for most libraries. (Picture book/folktale. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2003

ISBN: 1-56554-922-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pelican

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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I WISH YOU MORE

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.

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A collection of parental wishes for a child.

It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
EASTER BUNNY HELPER
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Christy Webster ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager & Chiara Fiorentino

- BOOK REVIEW
MOO-MOO, I LOVE YOU!
by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

- BOOK REVIEW
CHOO-CHOO SCHOOL
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)