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All the World
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From: Barthelmess, Thom <tbarthelmess_at_dom.edu>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:02:31 -0600
This year marks the first (and no doubt the last) time I had actually read all of the Newbery and Caldecott winner and honor books. I can happily say that I enjoyed all of them, but I'm especially pleased about the recognition of All the World. I love it for its unapologetic sentimentality. The illustrations are warm and expansive and beautiful, and set a tone of comfort and welcome. Individually, they are full of meaningful detail; the two-page spread, with text that tells us "All the world is old and new," shows us just that, with a sapling in a wagon in the shade of a grand tree, a grandfather playing with a puppy, and three young children hanging from ancient branches. Together, in sequence, the illustrations add a narrative arc to the poem they illustrate. We follow a path, stopping along the way to meet members of a community of shared experience. Frazee's repeated use of circles, from the lot before the farmers' market to the tables and chairs at the cafй, reinforces the roundness of the world, and t he inclusiveness of its embrace. It is the nature of these awards to compare apples to oranges, and judge each book in terms of its success meeting its own objectives. All the World, with is resonant expression of our universal connection, is a remarkable success.
Thom Barthelmess
Received on Wed 27 Jan 2010 11:02:31 AM CST
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:02:31 -0600
This year marks the first (and no doubt the last) time I had actually read all of the Newbery and Caldecott winner and honor books. I can happily say that I enjoyed all of them, but I'm especially pleased about the recognition of All the World. I love it for its unapologetic sentimentality. The illustrations are warm and expansive and beautiful, and set a tone of comfort and welcome. Individually, they are full of meaningful detail; the two-page spread, with text that tells us "All the world is old and new," shows us just that, with a sapling in a wagon in the shade of a grand tree, a grandfather playing with a puppy, and three young children hanging from ancient branches. Together, in sequence, the illustrations add a narrative arc to the poem they illustrate. We follow a path, stopping along the way to meet members of a community of shared experience. Frazee's repeated use of circles, from the lot before the farmers' market to the tables and chairs at the cafй, reinforces the roundness of the world, and t he inclusiveness of its embrace. It is the nature of these awards to compare apples to oranges, and judge each book in terms of its success meeting its own objectives. All the World, with is resonant expression of our universal connection, is a remarkable success.
Thom Barthelmess
Received on Wed 27 Jan 2010 11:02:31 AM CST
