MAKING THE WORLD

by Douglas Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1998

Wood (Rabbit and the Moon, p. 120, etc.) offers a vision of the world as an ever-changing entity, endlessly making and remaking itself; the book poetically demonstrates how flux and variation are natural parts of both the environment and the human condition. The tone of the text is idyllic: While wind and wave help ""make the world"" in the physical sense, other elements, by their loveliness or sheer presence, are also at play--a ""butterfly helps to make a breeze more beautiful"" and ""koi in the pond rise to the dimpling rain . . . . They flash and swirl, filling dark waters with color. And they help make the world."" The settings range far and wide--the North American coast, African plains, South American countryside, Asia--and in each one a child engages and delights in the surrounding wonders. There is a strong sense of immediacy: As one child sculpts a sandcastle, another catches her reflection in an ornamental pool. The last pages make the connection between parent and child, and how that relationship, too, is an integral aspect in the earth's composition. The illustrations, richly colored, are just smoky enough to give the story a dreamy cast.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1998

ISBN: 1416985964

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S