Synopses & Reviews
Winner of:
2015 Parents' Choice Award, Picture Book
This picture book takes children of all ages on a trolley-ride dream adventure
Featuring the extraordinary illustrations of Caldecott Honoree, Marvin Bileck, this book is a dream caught on paper with the sense of magic and wonder and unfettered imagination of a child. As sleep starts the journey into the blue, marvelous threads unravel dreamy images out of the blue revealing animals, far-off places, a circus, games, toys, wind, rain, a touch of this and a touch of that, words and wordplay. A poem accompanies the whimsical illustrations, perfectly capturing the sense of awe and excitement of childhood. With the eyes of a child, or simply the heart of a child, this book invites you into a dream world, an allegory, a journey.
Review
"This is the work of two masters, who will take children on an exciting passage through time and illusion with their careful blending of words and pictures." —Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Coretta Scott King Award winning author and illustrator
Review
"What a joy to read and reread! Truly a treasure! Bileck and Bryan will bewitch generations of readers." —Leslie Tryon, author and illustrator
Review
"This trolley ride took me back to my own childhood, complete with the sound memory of the clank of change in the fare box. Now, the special stop I’d like to make is when the trolley passes Timbuctu." —Henrietta Mays Smith, professor emerita, University of South Florida, Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Review
"With echoes of Lear and Stevenson, this journey into the land of dreams pairs a detailed Old World setting with a pulsing four-beat rhythm to pull readers into its magical realm . . . . Masterful wordplay, alliteration, imagery, and rhyme contribute to this 29-stanza poem, printed in its entirety at the opening and then woven throughout the densely populated pages in a hand-printed text . . . . Bileck and Bryan capture the stuff of dreams in this mesmerizing and multifaceted pageant." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Synopsis
Winner of:
2015 Parents' Choice Award, Picture Book
This picture book takes children of all ages on a trolley-ride dream adventure
Featuring the extraordinary illustrations of Caldecott Honoree, Marvin Bileck, this book is a dream caught on paper with the sense of magic and wonder and unfettered imagination of a child. As sleep starts the journey into the blue, marvelous threads unravel dreamy images out of the blue revealing animals, far-off places, a circus, games, toys, wind, rain, a touch of this and a touch of that, words and wordplay. A poem accompanies the whimsical illustrations, perfectly capturing the sense of awe and excitement of childhood. With the eyes of a child, or simply the heart of a child, this book invites you into a dream world, an allegory, a journey.
About the Author
Ashley Bryan is an author, artist, and teacher who was the first African American man to both write and illustrate a book for children. His work has earned widespread recognition, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and several Coretta Scott King awards and honors. His two volumes of collections of Black American spirituals, Walk Together Children and Im Going To Sing are his seminal works forming the foundation of so much of his imagery. He lives on Little Cranberry Island (Islesford) off the coast of Maine. www.ashleybryancenter.org Marvin Bileck was an artist, educator, and a designer and illustrator of childrens books. Rain Makes Applesauce earned a Caldecott Honor. Other titles include Penny, Sugarplum and A Walker in the City.