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GIVE YOURSELF TO THE RAIN

Name: GIVE YOURSELF TO THE RAIN
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
ISBN: 0-689-83344-X

POEMS FOR THE VERY YOUNG

by Margaret Wise Brown & illustrated by Teri L. Weidner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2002

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The subtitle is unfairly limiting; among these 24 previously unpublished poems are deceptively simple lyrics that will engage readers of any age: “Brace nothing against it / Safe in your bed / Listen / And give yourself to the rain. . . .” Though Brown gazes into a jack-o’-lantern’s eyes, and later the cozy confines of a sugar egg, for the most part she looks outward to the natural world, and so does Weidner (Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny, 2000, etc.) with outdoorsy scenes of children and familiar animals in grassy settings, depicted with subdued colors and soft, flowing lines. There are signs that some poems were still works in progress when the poet died in 1952; the title poem, for instance, ends with a weak line, and “Colors” starts out strongly—“Shout Red Sing Blue Laugh Green / Smile Yellow Whoa Black . . . ”—then trails off. Still, her sharp powers of observation, her ability to evoke the intensity of childhood experience, her ear for rhythm and wordplay, come through full-strength. Renowned children’s literature scholar Leonard S. Marcus adds a consciousness-raising introduction for parents/adults who haven’t already cottoned to Brown’s unique voice and talents. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-689-83344-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
TWO LITTLE TRAINS
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

- BOOK REVIEW
A HOME IN THE BARN
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

- BOOK REVIEW
GOOD DAY, GOOD NIGHT
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Loren Long

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HONEY, I LOVE

by Eloise Greenfield & illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2003

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Iffy art cramps this 25th-anniversary reissue of the joyful title poem from Greenfield’s first collection (1978), illustrated by the Dillons. As timeless as ever, the poem celebrates everything a child loves, from kissing Mama’s warm, soft arm to listening to a cousin from the South, “ ’cause every word he says / just kind of slides out of his mouth.” “I love a lot of things / a whole lot of things,” the narrator concludes, “And honey, / I love ME, too.” The African-American child in the pictures sports an updated hairstyle and a big, infectious grin—but even younger viewers will notice that the spray of cool water that supposedly “stings my stomach” isn’t aimed there, and that a comforter on the child’s bed changes patterns between pages. More problematic, though, is a dropped doll that suddenly acquires a horrified expression that makes it look disturbingly like a live baby, and the cutesy winged fairy that hovers over the sleeping child in the final scene. The poem deserves better. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-06-009123-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
ALAINA AND THE GREAT PLAY
by Eloise Greenfield ; illustrated by Colin Bootman

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WOMEN WHO CAUGHT THE BABIES
by Eloise Greenfield ; illustrated by Daniel Minter

- BOOK REVIEW
THINKER
by Eloise Greenfield ; illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi

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WHAT YOU NEED TO BE WARM

by Neil Gaiman ; illustrated by Various ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2023

No substitute for blankets or shelter, but perhaps a way of securing some warmth for those in need.

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Gaiman’s free-verse meditation on coming in from, or at least temporarily fending off, the cold is accompanied by artwork from 13 illustrators.

An ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the author put out a social media appeal in 2019 asking people about their memories of warmth; the result is this picture book, whose proceeds will go to the UNHCR. For many refugees and other displaced persons, Gaiman writes, “food and friends, / home, a bed, even a blanket, / become just memories.” Here he gathers images that signify warmth, from waking in a bed “burrowed beneath blankets / and comforters” to simply holding a baked potato or being offered a scarf. Using palettes limited to black and the warm orange in which most of the text is printed, an international slate of illustrators give these images visual form, and 12 of the 13 add comments about their intentions or responses. The war in Ukraine is on the minds of Pam Smy and Bagram Ibatoulline, while Majid Adin recalls his time as a refugee in France’s “Calais jungle” camp. “You have the right to be here,” the poet concludes, which may give some comfort to those facing the cold winds of public opinion in too many of the places where refugees fetch up. The characters depicted are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

No substitute for blankets or shelter, but perhaps a way of securing some warmth for those in need. (Picture book. 6-9)