This picture book by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Maria Frazee is pure delight. I bought it on a whim at Ollie's for Christmas. It fit my criteria for a "good" kids book ie. few words on the page and good pictures.
This book has GREAT pictures though. As in, it won this fancy prize in 2010 called the Caldecott Award. :D
I love introducing Caldecott books to my children. I feel like I am holding a true piece of art.
While the pictures are exceptional, the text is equally captivating. Scanlon writes in poetry--not singy-songy kid poetry either--true verse. Her words taste so good as this book is read aloud. They simply roll off your tongue and just hang in the air for a moment. Truly delicious.
The pictures and poetry follow the story of a family and small community throughout their day. It is a perfect goodnight book. The cadence of the poetry makes you slow down and speak softly. By the last page, I find myself nearly whispering. The boys lean in to hear the last phrase and their heads are so close that dropping that final goodnight kiss on their fuzzy little heads is just the right ending to this wonderful book.
My favorite lines are at the end of the book: "Hope and Peace and Love and Trust / All the World is all of us"
::happy sigh::
Check this book out! No, don't do that. Buy it.
It's a treasure of literary beauty and simplicity.
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