By: David Elzey,
on 5/20/2011
by Janice May Udry pictures by Maurice Sendak Harper & Row 1959 Four children frolic beneath the light of the full moon. Yup, it's as simple as that. On the title page we get a small verse of poetry that sets the tone for the book. Summer night is the cool dark grass And big tired trees With the moon sailing On a wind. Once the sun has set, the moon is in the sky and Mother
By: David Elzey,
on 5/18/2011
by William Pene Du Bois Viking Press 1956 In an animal factory in the sky winged artists invent new animals, including one very unusual looking lion. Artist Foreman, looking suspiciously like an angel, was one of the first animal designers in the Animal Factory in the sky. Now in semi-retirement as, well, a foreman to the other artists, he has come up with a new name for an animal --
By: David Elzey,
on 11/10/2009
by Beatrice de Regniers1959 Pantheon edition illustratedby Reiner Zimnik1989 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard editionillustrated by Bernice MyersToday, a little compare and contrast between two editions of the same book separated by three decades.Snowed in on and old farmhouse in the Dakotas, a lonely woman begins to fantasize about having a little company. The man, her husband, points out that they don't
I adore this book, and I miss this sensibility. Yes, there is a lot of cleverness out there, and creative twists (not to say gimmicks), but little children can only take so much of that before they need something straightforward and real. You know, real in that dreamy way that IS real for kids.<br /><br />And weren't we so much younger back then?<br /><br />Thanks for keeping the spotlight