Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In serene watercolor and pencil spreads and gossamer prose, Freedman (Carl and the Meaning of Life) marvels at the mystery of change. As the book opens, washes of blue sky give way to thunderclouds, then darts of dark blue rain that slash across the page: "This sky is/ the same sky that/ was blue/ but now is// spilling down." Hand-painted words appear: "is is is." A page turn shows puddles left behind--"the same rain that was drips/ is now for sips/ and song." A bright yellow bird drinking at a puddle starts at a fox's arrival, a painted "was" marking the place the bird occupied. More scenes of transformation follow. Throughout, Freedman creates an atmosphere of wistful wondering, personified in the final sequence by a parent and child gazing at the sunset. The blue sky ("Blue is") turns rose ("Blue was"), then fills with stars, the child lingering for one last look. Addressing the puzzle of impermanence, Freedman finds the beauty in transitional moments through a book that also offers a quiet way to begin conversations about loss. Ages 4--8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (May)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Freedman's ethereal picture book tackles the slippery nature of impermanence through simple observations of the natural world. A small yellow bird flits across a pale blue sky and into a sudden rain. Soon, though: "The same rain that was drips / is now for sips / and song." The bird drinks from a small puddle as a chipmunk scurries by and a fox wanders in, while nearly translucent type appears to show what "is! is!" The spare, poetic text is expertly paced across the pages. With each page-turn, small creatures weave through subtly shifting terrain. A bird's song disappears to make way for a bee's buzzing, and the once-blue, once-rainy sky shifts again as the sun sets. Dappled watercolor illustrations deftly convey the blurred barriers between what is and what was, while the penciled details -- a delicate spiderweb, a raptor's talons -- sharpen focus on the wonders of the natural world. At last, a family watches the day fade into an indigo night as the text reassures: "Still, this sky is / the same sky / that was." A muted, meditative, transcendent picture book that invites readers to marvel at both the ephemeral and the enduring. Grace McKinney July/August 2021 p.78(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This meditation on the fleeting nature of time explores themes of impermanence in nature. The story opens with a glimpse of a sky "that was blue, / but now is // spilling down." Readers then see rain falling, with the words is is is in a fluid blue display type mingling with the raindrops, followed by a spread with three puddles, each accompanied by a similar was, and a thirsty chipmunk and bird eager for a drink. Now that "rain that was drips / is for sips / and song." As the story continues, the spare text flowing like poetry and the illustrations extending the lyrical musings in concrete ways, readers spend their time with creatures in nature--including a human family (presenting White) that appears at the end--and with a breathtaking instance of blithe, vividly colored sunflowers on display. In one particularly effective spread featuring a vast and sunny pale blue sky, a child swings, the arc of the movement shifting from is to was repeatedly. The tone briefly shifts from wondrous and meditative to exhilarating when a chipmunk manages to escape the talons of a hungry owl. ("A shadow is" but, fortunately for the chipmunk, becomes past tense.) The narrative, infused with a tenderness that avoids preciosity, is a contemplative, thought-provoking one and will prompt children to think about the here and the now--and how quickly such a thing becomes memory. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.) An experience that is, and always will be, memorable. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
