Publishers WeeklyWith two brief lines per page, Hoberman (The Marvelous Mouse Man) focuses on precise details associated with each season, while Wilton's (Feathers and Fools) illustrations imagine the view from an unseen child's window, with broad expanses of color and flattened perspectives reminiscent of folk art. Elliptical turquoise strips, for example, suggest movement in the deep blue sky as concentric golden circles emanate from the sun (Clouds sail in the summer sky Right outside my window). A curlicue vine and flitting butterflies anchor the celestial image to the child's vantage point. Although the artist's unorthodox approach (his complex medium involves a concrete surface, fabric and other scraps secured by gesso, and the layering, sanding and reapplication of paint), the end result resembles that of smooth painted wooden surfaces, aged over time. On a later autumn spread, a sienna-hued squirrel dashes across a mud brown path surrounded by acorns and leaves so dark they seem more ebony than green, the imperfections on the surface lend a natural look. Throughout, each double-page spread is bordered in white, recalling the titular window frame. As Hoberman wraps up (Summer, autumn, winter, spring, Right outside my window. What brand new changes will they bring? Right outside my window), Wilton introduces the girl narrator leaning out of her house, emphasizing the deeper implications of the poet's closing question. This lyrical offering is just right any time of year. Ages 3-7. (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Children's LiteratureHere is a poetic look at how the seasons change a child's world. Two lines of poetry establish a focus for each page. The second line is always "right outside my window," making this a good choice for anyone who enjoys sharing the work of reading aloud with children. Ideas are interesting but accessible even to very small children. The superb illustrations are reason enough to own the book. (Wilton also illustrated Where Do Butterflies Go When It Rains?) Small children will enjoy naming the changes that take place outside their windows as the year passes. In the classroom, children may enjoy making their own books of seasonal changes. 2002, Mondo Publishing,
Michael Chabin <%ISBN%>1590341945
School Library JournalPreS-The many delights that a child might see throughout the seasons by looking out the window are suggested in simple rhymed couplets. A bird on a tree, another learning to fly, a black cat running, a kite whipped up by the wind, silver raindrops, and clouds in the sky are among the sights. Stylish prints created by painting on concrete surfaces that are sandpapered so that layers are reflected add depth and movement to otherwise static images. A quiet, poetic picture book to share with the very young.-Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus ReviewsLayering paint, gesso, and natural objects thinly atop scraped concrete surfaces, Wilton (Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains?, 1997, etc.) places stylized flora and fauna into subdued settings suggestive of passing seasons. Hoberman's (The Marvelous Mouse Man, p. 493, etc.) accompanying verse is also more evocative than specifically descriptive: "In spring the wind whips up a kite. / Right outside my window. / Silver raindrops catch the light / Right outside my window," etc. Painting in a similar style, but on plywood, Stefano Vitale achieved a warmer look in Charlotte Zolotow's When the Wind Stops (1995); pair these two together for an illuminating study in contrasting visual textures, but stick with the latter for an emotionally richer commemoration of time's passage. (Picture book. 6-8)
- Mondo Publishing
- Publication date:
- Product dimensions:
- 9.34(w) x 10.32(h) x 0.37(d)
- Age Range:
- 3 - 7 Years
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