Red Sings from The Treetops: A Year in Colors

Red Sings From The Treetops: A Year in Colors

Written by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

 Poetry can be such a sweet but elusive thing to me. I am not a well-read when it comes to poetry, but each time I read it, I love it! As a reader, I am accustomed to reading quickly; understanding.  Poetry makes me slow down, and think a little more; sometimes a lot more.  That is what makes it so refreshing and worthwhile.   I know this about myself and poetry, and I see the same thing with my children, and so Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colorssat waiting in my book pile for a bit before I was ready to slow down enough to read it.  When I did--I loved it!  LOVE!

The book is what it claims to be: a year in colors.  Starting with Spring and ending with Winter you travel through the seasons with colors, and you see them all the while through words as well as pictures.  Oh, the art!  The art is so amazing, the colors (so fittingly) are so right on, that it makes my heart sing!  I adore the colors in this book.  The paintings are indeed what caught my daughter on her first run through, she found much to point out and much to talk about, and loved to guess which color was about to be explained in the season through the next poem. We loved this book.  As is typical for me, I also love that this book has a lot of rereading potential--more to learn each time, and more for my children to discover as they mature.

Poetry can be an interesting thing for children--my children.  All readers are different, inlcuding young ones, and I see this when we are reading poetry as well.  Poetry  is wide-ranging and so there are types to suit each taste.  My children all love funny poems.  My children especially love poems with accompanying amazing pictures.  But then, my children are also different.  The five year-old daughter I read this with is busy, she chatters and moves a lot.  Perhaps she is most still typically, when she is reading!  But this book's pictures found reason for her to say things, lots of things, while we read.  Because of this she missed a lot of words, but she didn't miss an experience.  With more readings she will catch more words, more meanings, will ask more questions, and find still more to talk about in the illustrations.  When I think of another child of mine, a son, I think at this same age he would have listened and caught more language, as language is his love, maybe missing more of the pictures.  All kids are different, all people are different, and there are books and poems to suit us all.  Sometimes one may suit most of us, but in different ways.  Oh, the joy of reading, and sharing a book with another!

We loved this book, the 2010 Caldecott Winner (I have not mentioned this yet, have I?) I am grateful for the award, because the popularitiy if it made the cover familiar to me.  What if I would have missed it?  Oh thank goodness I didn't, because we so enjoyed the red singing from the treetops! I hope you do too.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

Written by: Norton Juster
Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Many fortunate children have fond memories of grandparents, like my children do. In our life grandparent's have a special way with our children and they are very important friends and teachers to them as well. In another favorite book, The Hello, Goodbye Window, a little girl's grandparents are just as special to her. This book is sweet and meaningful to parents, and children enjoy it too!

The House in the Night

The House in the Night
By Susan Marie Swanson
Pictures by Beth Krommes

The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished picture book of the year. The House in the Night is the winner of this medal for 2009. When I heard this title was the winner I was unfamiliar with it, but eager to read it. Author Susan Marie Swanson wrote The House in The Night based on a traditional nursery rhyme. Of course this makes me want to search out this old rhyme which begins, "this is the key to the kingdom." Swanson's book begins, "Here is the key to the house." Swanson continues with a pattern of telling you about another object, relating to the previous one, all related to nighttime.

In an effort to be honest, I have to say that this book upon first reading was not impressive to me. Yes, I liked it, but it did not stand out. However, after reading it more than once I have come to appreciate the pattern of the writing more. My children were not enthralled upon first reading either, but this book strikes me as one that when owned and reread could become a familiar and well-loved comfort book through its gentle subtle ideas and pattern. It is worth reading, and thinking about. I even feel intrigued to use repeated readings to see if the story does indeed grow on my children!

In talking about this book, as with all picture books, it's important for us not to forget the pictures! Since the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the book rather than the author, in this case it feels especially important to dote on these lovely illustrations. They are lovely done in only the nighttime scheme of black, white, and yellow, using scratchboard and watercolor. To learn more about this interesting and beautiful technique you can visit illustrator Beth Krommes web page as I did. I love the unique look of her method! The illustrations are remarkable and worthy of an award. Especially lovely are the stars, which shine in such a lovely black, white and yellow way! I am very inclined to search out Krommes first book, Grandmother Winter, whose illustrations have an appealing gentle color and intricate snowflakes I want to just study! I hope I can track this book down.

Do check out The House in the Night if you haven't already, and tell me what you think! Next week I will tell you of the familiar nighttime book this winner reminded me of, Goodnight Goodnight, by Eve Rice.