Synopses & Reviews
A 2011 Newbery Honor Book
and#160; Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,
come smell your way among the trees,
come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:
Welcome to the night.
Welcome to the night, where mice stir and furry moths flutter. Where snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. Where the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. Where the porcupette eats delicaciesand#8212;raspberry leaves!and#8212;and coos and sings.
Come out to the cool, night wood, and buzz and hoot and howland#8212;but do beware of the great horned owland#8212;for itand#8217;s wild and itand#8217;s windy way out in the woods!
This Newbery Honor-winning picture book combines beautifully written poetry with facts of the forest and elaborate illustrations to form a marvelously engaging collection.
Review
"Moving gracefully through the seasons, newcomer VanDerwater shares a girl's experience of what the forest has to offer."
—Publishers Weekly
Review
"Moving gracefully through the seasons, newcomer VanDerwater shares a girl's experience of what the forest has to offer."
and#8212;Publishers Weekly
"The imagery is fresh and original; it's accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem's subject add to the appeal."
and#8212;Kirkus
"Dip into this appealing collection for an introduction to early nature studies or poetry writing, or for generating some well-deserved enthusiasm for a stroll in the great outdoors."
and#8212;Booklist
"The verses are approachable for readers and vivid for readaloud listeners, so this is a title with a broad spread of possible use. Even if there's no nearby forest, just have the kids close their eyes, listen to the poetry, and imagine that there is."
and#8212;Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The book is an inviting tour for those who enjoy observing the natural world through poetry."
and#8212;School Library Journal
Review
"Allen's detailed yet moody prints encapsulate the mysteries and magic of the midnight hours. In Sidman's delicious poems, darkness is the norm, and there's nothing to fear but the rising sun."and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This is a fine collection for classroom use at any time, but it'll bring extra impact to those who can find a way to share it at dusk with the lights dimmed, watching through the windows as the nocturnal ballet begins outside."and#8212;The Bulletin, starred review
"This picture book combines lyrical poetry and compelling art with science concepts."and#8212;Booklist, starred review
"The dark lines of Allen's skillful lino cut prints make the perfect accompaniment to a book of night poems, with their subtle colors allowing the reader to seek out the creatures slowly, just as one's eye becomes accustomed to finding things in the dark."and#8212;The Horn Book, starred review
"The bookmaking is beautiful with the concept of night lending itself generously to poetry. "and#8212;School Library Journal
Review
The delightful use of language plays on the senses as it creates word pictures that are sure to entertain....A celebration of thses mighty living things and the people who love them.
School Library Journal, Starred
The original poems in this lovely, simple collection celebrate every aspect of trees in a variety of poetic forms including free verse, rhyme, and haiku....Kiesler's warm oil paintings beautifully complement the poems, making for a totally satisfying experience that is sure to be a favorite.
Booklist, ALA, Starred Review
Synopsis
26 short, lighthearted poems about the forest and its animals, plants, and seasonal changes, beautifully and accurately illustrated in watercolor.
Synopsis
A spider is a "never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner." A tree frog proposes, "Marry me. Please marry me... / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I'm one great frog / with one strong voice." VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, "Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song." The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.
Synopsis
Twenty-six irresistible poems capture a girl's experiences in a forest throughout the year. She has a conversation with a chickadee, sees fiddleheads unfurl, finds a fossil, tells us what a young owl says to its mother and what a spring tree frog is saying ("Marry me. / Please marry me. . . . / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I'm one great frog / with one strong voice"). Short poems in a variety of forms, inviting and easy to read, present Amy VanDerwater's intimate and lighthearted observations of forest denizens, and Robbin Gourley's lush and graceful watercolors make the woodland setting glow from the page.
Synopsis
A spider is a and#8220;never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.and#8221; A tree frog proposes, and#8220;Marry me. Please marry meand#8230; / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / Iand#8217;m one great frog / with one strong voice.and#8221; VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, and#8220;Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.and#8221; The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.
Synopsis
This tree across the stream is a trickier bridge than it might seem... The author of The Great From Race and Other Poems has created a collection of short poems that celebrate trees and the amazing variety of ways they touch our lives. Deceptively simple verses reveal what trees think about and what they say to one another, as well as how they look and all the things they do for us. Humor and an unerring ear for the sounds of language make these poems an irresistible read-aloud; the luminous oil paintings evoke a country setting and the children who enjoy it through the year.
About the Author
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is a poet whose work has appeared in several magazines and children. Forest Has a Song is her first book. A writing teacher and journalist as well as a poet, Amy has a master of arts in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She taught fifth grade and directed a summer writing program for many years. She currently works in schools throughout the United States, teaching teachers about writing workshops, studying literature, and conferring with students. She lives on a farm in Holland, New York, with her husband, their three children, lots of animals, and plenty of books.
Robbin Gourley is an artistandnbsp;and art director as well as an author and illustratorandnbsp;of cookbooks and picture books. She divides her time betweenandnbsp;rural Pennsylvania and Brooklyn, New York.