sun

The Longest Night

| Tasha

The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ted Lewin

The longest night of the year is very cold, very still.  One of the creatures must bring back the sun.  The wind knows which creature that is.  Crow offers to fly up and bring back the sun.  Moose offers his strength to bring it back. Fox offers to sniff and search it out.  Chickadee though is the one who must bring back the sun.  But what in the world can Chickadee do?  She cannot fly high enough.  She is not strong.  She is not cunning.  But she can do what she does best.

A poem woven into a picture book, this book is exquisite.  Bauer’s poetry has a rhythm that is almost primal.  She plays with sounds, repeats refrains, and celebrates imagery.  Her poem is deep, thrumming with the energy of the forest.  It is quiet and powerful.  But most of all it is for children but without any pretense.

Lewin’s illustrations match Bauer’s poem so well.  His illustrations explore the dark, the deep, the mysterious.  They linger in blues, blacks and moonlight.  Somehow he has captured that majestic blue of a moonlit night that is so deep and so unlike day.  When the sun returns at the end of the book, one almost shields their eyes from the brightness.  His illustrations are just as evocative as the poem, just as shining, just as powerful.

Highly recommended, this book belongs in every library.  It will work for many units from poetry to winter to moon or sun.  Share this.  It is a pleasure to read aloud such wonderful writing.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Poetry Friday: Sky Magic

| Tasha

Sky Magic compilation by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Mariusz Stawarski

The poems in this lovely compilations move from dawn to night, focusing on the sun, moon and stars.  You will find favorite poems mixed in with new delights.  The book is a lovely lullaby of poetry, filled with great images, wonderful verse, and inspiring language.  The poems are for children, but will speak to all readers.

The poems work well for children, but are not childish.  They are all elevated examples of children’s poetry, accessible and worth stretching for to reach.  Rather like the stars themselves.  Hopkins has paid attention to not only the length of poems, but the rhythm and flow between the poems too.   There are no jarring changes between poems, but instead it feels as if they grow from being next to one another.

Here is one of my favorites from the book.  The choice of which one to share was very difficult!

Moon Lullaby by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Lull cats to sleep,

let children dream,

shine silver blue

on gentle stream.

Glaze the house

where sleepers sigh…

as hours

as nights

as years go by.

A truly lovely anthology of poems, this book deserves a place in every library.  It will also be a great book to read aloud when studying the sun, moon or stars.  A lovely poetic interlude in science, sounds lovely.  Appropriate for ages 4-8 and older.

Check out all of the Poetry Friday posts at Crossover.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed at Wild Rose Reader and Poetry for Children.