A modest collection of 16 sleepytime poems, most of them dating from the first half of the last century, with gently surreal illustrations. The design is such that each two-page spread functions as a single unit, with the left-hand-side image or images facing the right-hand page of text. This allows the illustrator a free imaginative rein, so that some pictures are bizarrely fanciful and others gently straightforward; they reflect and enhance the poems in unexpected ways. The classic “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” which takes up four pages, plays a Victorian-inspired trio in their wooden shoe boat against a thoroughly modern mom in bare feet and chinos gazing at her babe in a trundle bed. Carl Sandburg’s “Baby Toes” (“There is a blue star, Janet, / Fifteen years’ ride from us, / If we ride a hundred miles an hour”) is paired with a female pilot holding sky charts and a small child sitting in the pilot’s seat of a bi-plane. Lilian Moore’s gorgeous “The Bridge” shows a boy looking out at a bridge from his window, having built bridges on the floor of his room with piles of books as suspension. The North Wind in Vachel Lindsay’s “The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky” is a startling, spiky figure with punk hair and bright blue shoes. The illustrator sneaks in the cover of another book he’s illustrated in the marvelous split-screen high-rise view for Norma Farber’s “Manhattan Lullaby.” This sophisticated collection does what it sets out to do, and should give bedtime readers food for dreams. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-688-16603-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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