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The Way We Go

Name: The Way We Go
Author: Pat Heydlauff
ISBN: 978-1452569611

YOUR ROADMAP TO A BETTER FUTURE

by Pat Heydlauff ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2013

Illustrates a place of peace or, at the very least, tranquil reflection.

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Awards & Accolades

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The author uses the simple rhyme and meter of children’s poetry to answer questions only an adult would ask, and she highlights it with her original artwork.

Heydlauff’s (Selling Your Home with a Competitive Edge, 2011) poetry has the gentle, repetitive rhymes and rhythms of a children’s book: “Where do we begin, how do we start, / is this the way we go? // Should we go anywhere, should we go somewhere, / is this the way we go?” Her words could be song lyrics, but instead, the poems, along with a single paragraph of prose on each facing page, topped with a fluid, original painting, sketch a road map that parallels the author’s own journey from high-stress CEO to a life of peace. “Does your level of GROWTH, CALM and PEACE seem tiny at times? ACKNOWLEDGE each no matter how small and continue on your journey,” she writes. Some self-help authors come across as pretentious or strident, but Heydlauff is neither. She simply shares her experience instead of giving advice. The combination of prose, poetry and art allows her to convey the same message on several levels. The periodic use of all-caps emphasis works well here, giving each prose paragraph a sense of swing and rhythm, transitioning seamlessly from prose to poetry and back. The accompanying art is bright and spare, with simple titles that suggest but don’t limit. In “To Each I Give All,” the Earth dangles from a silver thread of hope, partially in the frame. In “Gifting Energy,” vibrant sparks, or maybe the rays of the sun, stream up and across the page. A subtle rainbow appears in almost every painting: clutched in a dove’s beak or reflecting in the clouds. Ultimately, Heydlauff doesn’t lecture—she leads.

Illustrates a place of peace or, at the very least, tranquil reflection.

Pub Date: March 27, 2013

ISBN: 978-1452569611

Page Count: 64

Publisher: BalboaPress

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.