A Forest Song
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This beautiful cento poem from two award-winning creators about experiencing a forest with all of your senses will make the perfect read-aloud for nature lovers and curious explorers of all ages.
An NCTE Notable Children’s Poetry Book
Into the forest, dark and deep,
With miles to go before I sleep . . .
Beneath the holy oaks I wander.
Here, O my heart, just listen!
This vivid and evocative poem reimagines classic lines of poetry from Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe and others. Readers will journey into a forest, listen carefully to its sounds, and observe the creatures that call it home.
With swirling colors, the stunning illustrations create scenes of the forest awakening through the eyes of a child – a wolf finds its lair, a deer steps with care, even the trees appear to flutter awake! Through each verse, the forest bursts with life and the trees slowly stretch up toward a starry night sky, whispering a gentle goodnight. And when the child awakens, the forest will be there to greet the morning anew.
A tribute to writers of the past, this stunning picture by acclaimed poet and author Kirsten Hall and award-winning illustrator Evan Turk celebrates the beauty of our forests, and encourages readers to respect, honor, and be in awe of their natural wonders.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In what back matter explains is a poetic form called a cento, Hall (How Big Is Baby?) arranges lines taken from various poets' works into a new piece—a mysterious-feeling creation that describes a journey deep into a forest. Opening with a familiar phrase ("Into the forest,/ dark and deep,/ With miles to go before I sleep"), Hall next borrows a line that invokes the landscape's sanctity: "Beneath the holy oaks I wander,/ Here, O my heart, just listen!" Rhythmic, swirling gouache paintings stroked in saturated colors by Turk (To See Clearly) show a cloaked and hatted figure, portrayed with orange skin, wandering under the trees, dwarfed by massive trunks and heavy branches. Purple trees whose branches extend toward the night sky next reach in through a window to tuck the child into bed. Context and visual cues make even formal diction ("Hear its greeting bells! Hear its organ swells!/ It will ripple and beat tomorrow still") intelligible in a collaborative celebration of the forest that also serves as a gentle introduction to poetic conventions. Line sources are listed in back matter, which includes an author's note. Ages 4–8. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group.
