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[CCBC-Net] Caldecott books
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From: lisa peters <lwpeters>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:21:13 -0600
I love this year's Caldecott Medal winner, The House in the Night. My mouth dropped when I first saw the cover art. The striking black and white scene instantly evokes night and its inherent scariness, but the scattered use of yellow -- smiling moon, medallion-like stars, house lights through the window and cheerful daisies -- just as quickly evokes warmth and comfort to a child reader seeing the book for the first time.
The first page welcomes the reader with both art and text: here is the key to the house. A mother's hand reaches toward the child and we can't help but turn the page. Both writer and artist successfully execute the circular nature of the story and not only that, transform the house to a home by the story's conclusion.
It's a book with so much detail and richness that a child will discover something new with each reading. I've read it many times and only just realized that the leading edge of the bird's wing is always yellow -- a subtle way to show that the bird is lighting the way for its young rider -- and that a Van Gogh Starry Night hangs unobtrusively in the background of one spread.
Hats off to Beth Krommes and Susan Marie Swanson for the rare achievement of a bedtime book that is both stunning and comforting.
Lisa Westberg Peters
Received on Thu 05 Feb 2009 10:21:13 AM CST
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 10:21:13 -0600
I love this year's Caldecott Medal winner, The House in the Night. My mouth dropped when I first saw the cover art. The striking black and white scene instantly evokes night and its inherent scariness, but the scattered use of yellow -- smiling moon, medallion-like stars, house lights through the window and cheerful daisies -- just as quickly evokes warmth and comfort to a child reader seeing the book for the first time.
The first page welcomes the reader with both art and text: here is the key to the house. A mother's hand reaches toward the child and we can't help but turn the page. Both writer and artist successfully execute the circular nature of the story and not only that, transform the house to a home by the story's conclusion.
It's a book with so much detail and richness that a child will discover something new with each reading. I've read it many times and only just realized that the leading edge of the bird's wing is always yellow -- a subtle way to show that the bird is lighting the way for its young rider -- and that a Van Gogh Starry Night hangs unobtrusively in the background of one spread.
Hats off to Beth Krommes and Susan Marie Swanson for the rare achievement of a bedtime book that is both stunning and comforting.
Lisa Westberg Peters
Received on Thu 05 Feb 2009 10:21:13 AM CST
