Tim is, well, timid; unlike the boisterous other children Prater depicts in his engaging, freely rendered pencil-and- watercolor illustrations, he doesn't like ``noisy, messy fun or being splashed or roughhousing.'' What he does love, despite the teasing, is his blanket; and when a pointy-hatted creature—a sort of shadow with a shadow of its own—steals this constant companion while Tim sleeps, he sets out, with unaccustomed boldness, in a dreamlike pursuit over mountains and seas to the thief's ``dreadful lair.'' Tim's brave demand for his blanket dissipates the thief's ``huge darkness,'' whereupon the lad retrieves not only his own but a hoard of other ``blankets, teddy bears, and best-loved toys'' and goes home to a hero's welcome. In the manner of Martin Waddell, Prater relates this child-sized drama with kindly humor and real empathy, and without a trace of condescension. Nice. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 29, 1993
ISBN: 0-689-31881-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1993
A gracefully poetic conversation between a mother and daughter links the cycling of the seasons to the child's own birth. In spring come ``leaves on trees and robins [and] The first time I ever saw your daddy.'' ``Where was I?'' ``You weren't born yet.'' ``Mama, what comes next?'' The summer's wedding, the baby beginning ``to grow inside of me'' in autumn, the ``crisp, clean air'' of winter when ``our voices sound loud in the quiet''—all are recalled in loving dialogue, coming at last to the joy of birth in the spring. In Young's glowing impressionistic pastels, the family is Oriental; his palette here is bright yet tender, the point of view sometimes intimately close, like that of a child secure in her parents' welcome. A lovely first book, with a text worthy of its beautiful setting. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-80268-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
When Erin visits the attic of her grandfather's country house, she is enchanted by the discovery of an old doll packed in a brass-hinged wooden box. Her grandfather allows her to keep it when she promises to take good care of the precious find. But late at night, Erin is awakened by the wind and drawn out of the house on a mysterious, sea-bound adventure, with the doll tucked safely under her arm. Alone at sea, she meets another little girl and learns the name and history of the beautiful doll. The highly colored, expressionistic illustrations are sure to dazzle, although a story that appears to encourage solo midnight boat trips may be one that will give parents pause. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-79585-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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