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"Owl Moon," by Jane Yolen and artist John Schoenherr, won the 1988 Caldecott Medal. ("OWL MOON") |
For Children
Owl Moon
Written by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by John Schoenherr
Philomel, 40 pp., ages 4 and up, $16.99
The Chronicles of Narnia
Based on the books by C. S. Lewis
Pop-ups by Robert Sabuda
HarperCollins, 14 pp., ages 5 and up, $29.99
A Picture for Marc
Written by Eric A. Kimmel
Illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Random House, 112 pp., ages 7-12, $11.99
The Christmas Song: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
Written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells
Illustrated by Doris Barrette
HarperCollins, 32 pp., ages 1-92, $16.99
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve
By Janet Morgan Stoeke
Dutton, 24 pp., ages 3-7, $15.99
With Christmas just past, readers looking to move beyond a deluge of holiday-specific books need search no further than Caldecott Medal winner "Owl Moon," in an elegant 20th-anniversary edition with introductory notes by author Jane Yolen and artist John Schoenherr. The story remains as fresh and beautiful as the day it was born: A child and father journey out one long-awaited night looking for owls. The child knows the rules - no being noisy, no disappointment if the owl doesn't show, no complaining: "If you go owling you have to be quiet and make your own heat." Yolen's lyrical evocation of the night and its mysteries is a pole star for any child. There has never been a better marriage between author and illustrator, a more exquisite celebration of winter's cold and the natural beauty all around us, if only we have the wits and patience to keep our senses alive.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" isn't exactly a children's book. It's a précis of all the Narnia books gorgeously brought into three dimensions by Robert Sabuda, master of the pop-up form. Consider this a deluxe coffee-table book for C. S. Lewis lovers of any age, and maybe for that rare child who has hammered through the entire Narnia chronicles. Sabuda opens with "The Magician's Nephew" and closes with "The Last Battle." My favorite is the galloping horse of "The Horse and His Boy," though "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" features a dragon-headed boat with real cloth sail and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" unleashes a dazzling snowy landscape.
Hanukkah is over too, and this wasn't a Hanukkah book to begin with, but Eric A. Kimmel's "A Picture for Marc" gives a vibrant portrait of the young Chagall (born Moishe Shagal "in Vitebsk, the dullest town in all of Russia") and his first art teacher, Yehuda Pen. The first half of the book is the stronger by far. But the early material will fascinate any young artist in the making. Chagall was a dreamer, an outsider, a visionary at an early age. Kimmel focuses on the most famous image created by Chagall - that of the "fiddler on the roof" - but spends too little time and attention on his grandfather's influence on Chagall's life. And Matthew Trueman's illustrations do no justice to the artist's greatness; better to have gained permission for a few of Chagall's own images.
Looking back briefly on that deluge of holiday books, some of the best are the classics that entertain well past their season, the old chestnuts - including, literally, "The Christmas Song: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire." Singer-songwriter Mel Tormé published more than 250 songs, most in collaboration with Robert Wells. This one took less than an hour to compose.
Canadian artist Doris Barrette renders the lyrics child-friendly with pictures focused on children and their families. She employs traditional reds and greens and blues and whites, touches of amber and brown to underscore the roasted-chestnut warmth of the song. Each picture is angled askew, imbuing each double spread with playfulness and movement. One of the most charming is of a family of slope-shouldered polar bears, looking confused as Santa and his reindeer fly away from the North Pole and its madly waving elves.
Make way for "Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve," by Janet Morgan Stoeke. The hapless hen is back, confusing Christmas-tree lights for fireflies, reindeer for goats with horns, and Santa on the roof for that "farmer in a red hat." She clucks around her people's house, admonishing Santa to "take your stuff out of their socks!" The pictures are clever, cartoony, often lovely. The book marks a refreshing change from the usual goopy/somber/effortful holiday fare. And it will stay funny all year.
Liz Rosenberg reviews books for young readers once a month in these pages.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
