Synopses & Reviews
Once there was a tree that stood in a field away from the other trees. It longed to be part of the forest—or part of anything at all. After many lonely years, its dream came true. And the little fir tree's life changed forever!
They put golden tinsel on his branches
And golden bells
And green icicles
And silver stars.
And soon—o shining wonder—the little fir tree was . . .
A Christmas tree
Celebrate the true spirit of Christmas with heartwarming text by the author of Goodnight Moon and exquisite, glowing paintings by award-winning artist Jim LaMarche.
Review
and#8220;The sweet story is filled with movement and excitement as the animals happily rush to witness the event. Acrylic spreads are bright and cheerful, and the simple text is done in bold, colorful type with exclamation marks galore. This charming story celebrates the anticipation of a new life and its long-awaited appearance.and#8221;and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
and#160;
and#160;
and#160;and#8220;A deceptively simple, joyous offering, this will surely enliven story hours, and its enthusiastic tone may rub off on kids who are facing the impending arrival of a new sibling with decidedly less eagerness.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist, starred review
Synopsis
Luminous paintings by award-winning artist LaMarche give new life to this classic Christmas story about a little fir tree by the beloved Margaret Wise Brown. Full color.
Synopsis
All the farm animals are hurrying to welcome a new baby chick in this prime offering for story time!
Synopsis
Rooster is spreading the word:
Hurry! Hurry! All the animals rush to the barnand#8212;and arrive just in time to greet the tiniest member of the farm family, hatching out of his egg.
Eve Buntingand#8217;s simple energetic text and Jeff Mackand#8217;s colorful art come together in a joyful book thatand#8217;s perfect for preschoolers.
About the Author
Few writers have been as attuned to the concerns and emotions of childhood as Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952). A graduate of Hollins College and the progressive Bank Street College of Education, she combined her literary aspirations with the study of child development. Her unique ability to see the world through a child's eyes is unequaled. Her many classic books continue to delight thousands of young listeners and readers year after year.
Muy pocos escritores de literatura infantil han logrado captar las emociones e inquietudes de la niñez como Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952). Sus numerosos y ya clásicos libros y grabaciones continúan deleitando a lectores y oyentes de todas las edades.
Jim LaMarche wrote and illustrated The Raft. He also illustrated Little Oh and The Rainbabies, both by Laura Krauss Melmed. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.
In His Own Words...
"It's funny how things turn out. I wasn't one of those kids with a clear vision of the future, the ones who know at age five that they will be writers or doctors or artists. I liked to draw, but then, so did most of the kids I knew, and growing up to be an artist never really occurred to me. What I did want to be, in order of preference, was a magician, Davy Crockett, a doctor, a priest (until I found out they couldn't get married), and a downhill ski racer.
"But I always loved to make things, and once I got going on a project I loved, I stuck with it. Once, when I was five or six, I cut a thousand cloth feathers out of an old sheet, which I then attempted to glue to my bony little body. I was sure I could have flown off the back porch if I'd just had a better glue. Another time I dug up some smooth blue-gray clay from the field behind our house, then molded it into an entire zoo, dried the animals in the sun, and painted them as realistically as I could. I made a grotto out of cement, a shoe box, and my fossil collection. I made moccasins out of an old deerhide I found in the basement.
"I grew up in the little Wisconsin town of Kewaskum, the soul of which was the Milwaukee River. In the summer we rafted on it and swam in it. In the winter we skated on it, sometimes traveling miles upriver. In the spring and fall my dad took us on long canoe trips, silently sneaking up on deer, heron, and fields of a thousand Canada geese. And almost all year long we fished for bullheads and northerns from the dam.
"I began college at the University of Wisconsin as a biology major, but somewhere along the line--I'm not sure when or even why--I switched to art, and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in art. I still had no idea of becoming a professional artist, however. In the meantime, I joined VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, to work with United Tribes of North Dakota creating school curriculum materials. It was a great job. Because there were only a few of us, I was able to try my hand at a little of everything: writing, graphic design, photography, and illustration. It was then that I slowly realized that it might be possible for me to make a living at art. I moved to California, and in the evenings-after working all day as a carpenter's assistant--I put together a portfolio.
"Twenty years later, I'm still here, living in Santa Cruz with my wife, Toni, and our three sons, Mario, Jean-Paul, and Dominic. The Pacific Ocean is only a few blocks away, and the scenery is very different from that of the Midwest, but somehow Kewaskum and the Milwaukee River show up in almost everything I draw. They provided the details of setting for The Rainbabies, Carousel, and Grandmother's Pigeon, and they are the setting for the book I'm working on now, my own story about the magic of a raft.
"I feel very lucky to have ended up as an illustrator of children's books. And maybe that isn't so different from my childhood dream of being a magician after all. Starting with a clean sheet of paper and with nothing up my sleeves, I get to create something that was never there before."