Synopses & Reviews
The mysteries, surprises, and delights of the night are here celebrated in evocative style and variety. The poems are ideal for reading aloud, and for encouraging children to see into the dark newly for themselves--perhaps in poems of their own making. Here is Joanie, ice-skating at night and imagining herself as a robber girl with a sooty cape. Here is Ben under the blankets, a bee in a honeycomb/ a jigsaw piece fitting in. The child in one poem says the at the headlight of passing cars hit my bedroom wall/ like big strokes of paint/ that disappear. Another dreams back into the past: I wanted to say hello/ to the people building the beginning/ of our town./ I wanted to help them./ When the sun got low,/ I wanted to give them a flashlight,/ but in my dream/ flashlights hadn't been invented yet.
Review
Swanson's slight verses on different views of nighttime are accompanied by the muted gray sketches by Peter Catalanotto. This is a winning combination! (Deseret News, Salt Lake City, April 14th, 1998)
Review
A delightful book with fascinating illustrations. (Copley News Service Feb 16th, 1998)
Review
The entire book has a feeling of the night and all the things seen there . . . a great addition to any collection. (Children's Literature, April 98)
Review
Gentle black and white illustrations are a fine feature. (Children's Bookwatch, Jan 98)
About the Author
Susan Marie Swanson reads and writes poems with children in her work as a visiting poet in schools. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Getting Used to the Dark is her first book. Peter Catalanotto's books include his own The Painter and several well-known collaborations with poet George Ella Lyon. He lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.