Book review - Red Sings from the Treetops
Vanessa Badroodien will be giving us a weekly book review and here’s the first one!
I must start by thanking the lovely Eli for the opportunity to do this weekly book review. Despite doing a daily blog, this weekly review is a wonderful opportunity to talk to more people about the beauty and magic of children’s books and story time.
So I thought that to kick off I would start with what has been my spring book of the year.
When searching for a book to review, I asked a few of the parents who form part of the book group at my son’s school for recommendations on books that deal with the seasons. Numerous recommendations were shared but there were none as beautiful as Red Sings from the Treetops. Shan allowed me to photograph the illustrations from her copy as mine was on order.
The book has had so many accolades they’re almost too numerous to mention – the use of colour, the words that bring seasons to life, the illustrations that are unbelievably exuberant. Observation, discovery, connection . . . what a beautiful book to bring seasons to life and to introduce children to poetry! Red Sings from the Treetops embodies everything poetry is meant to be. The words of poet Joyce Sidman are fresh even though she is writing about the oldest of concepts. These words combined with gloriously hue-soaked pictures of illustrator Pamela Zagarenski combine to create a poetry book that is both thoughtful and exuberant.
White
whispers,
f
l o
a
t
s,
clumps,
traces its wet finger
on branches and stumps.
White dazzles day
and turns night
inside out.
A wrestle, a romp,
a feast:
Mmmmmmm…
winter tastes White.
This book does not so much focus on repetition as much as it creates an almost breathless sense of wonder… I think children from about 2 – 12 as well as adults will be enthralled by it. There is much to point out to the children who are younger and for older children, there is no doubt that the tapestry of words and pictures will captivate them. I intend to buy one copy to put away as I suspect that it will be thumbed through regularly.
Comments
Bought this for my five year old and she loves it. I’m getting tired of reading it honestly. Ha.
By Tony on 06/12/2010 | Permalink
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