THE DARK WOOD OF THE GOLDEN BIRDS

A lesser-known story by the Goodnight Moon author is freshly illustrated for a new audience.

Even those most familiar with Brown’s beautiful and unsettling picture books will find themselves floored by this, arguably her most evocative, tale. At the edge of a mysterious woods, an old man sells honey and asparagus. The forest is home to golden birds whose lovely song can just be heard from its edges, but rumors say that those who enter never return, and when two children come to live with the elder, he warns them away from the woods. Yet when the old man grows gravely ill, the boy disobeys, entering the forest to bring back “the magic of the golden birds.” Brown’s exquisitely lyrical writing is that of an author at the top of her form; she infuses her narrative with enigmas as she grapples with themes of loss and death. An eerie, blue-infused half-light suffuses Amit’s art, ensnaring characters in the shadows of trees. In an afterword, Marginalian Editions founder Maria Popova, who rediscovered this obscure tale (long out of print), discusses its origins as a love letter to Brown’s difficult lover Michael Strange as she was dying of leukemia. Calling it “this crepuscular story aglow with love and longing,” Popova gives the book its long-delayed due. This is storytelling given free rein to turn up the weirdness, lyricism, and power of the written word to maximum effect. Characters are pale-skinned.

Mesmerizing.