Review by Booklist Review
Readers follow an expressive child "into the forest, dark and deep," amid the abundant calm of dense trees. "Through the pathless woods I wind," until "voices alive in the wind" carry the child off to bed. "Afresh, afresh," nature greets them again in the morning. For the uninitiated, Hall (The Honeybee, 2018) explains in a note that "lines and fragments" of poems "twist and conjoin" with others to create this new cento poem. First-person phrasing immerses readers in curious explorations narrated by a mix of recognizable stanzas by notable poets (all deceased), such as Robert Frost and Emily Brontë, strung with likely less-familiar "tributes to the woods." Lushly rendered full-bleed gouache illustrations make playful use of scale and perspective to absorb readers in this wondrous and emphatic adventure. Back matter also includes citations for the inspirational poems as well as a tutorial to help readers craft cento poems of their own. An evocative and inspiring homage to nature and an enchanting purchase for any collection.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Feb.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--5--In this imaginative picture book, cento poetry weaves together lines from renowned poets of the past to form a new narrative about a child's journey through the woods. The result is a lyrical and sensory-rich exploration of the forest that captures the wonder and magic of nature. Vibrant, autumnal illustrations complement the lyrical narrative, bringing the forest to life with rich colors and textures. Some children may find the language challenging, as many of the lines come from poems that are sometimes over a century old. For example: "Through the pathless woods I wind,/ Knowing what I hope to find/ Yet there are no signs!/ Only boughs entwined,/ And I know not which to follow." According to the author's note at the back, this excerpt is an amalgamation of lines from Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, and Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon, who all wrote during the 1800s. Hall uses fragments from their poems often, with lines shortened and reordered to fit her narrative. Younger readers might find difficulty understanding these complex sentence structures involving abstract thinking and vocabulary such as "boughs entwined" or "pathless woods." But while the language may be difficult for some young readers, this book offers a great introduction to poetry and creative writing. VERDICT A visually stunning and unique addition to poetry collections.--Melanie Leivers
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Review by Horn Book Review
This cento (a poem composed of passages from other writers) pays reverent tribute to the natural world, weaving together the words of poets such as Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Philip Larkin, Harriett Annie Wilkins, and many more. As Hall's closing author's note explains, she began crafting these lines early in the COVID-19 pandemic, wandering the woods and recalling "the words of poets whose works I had studied in my school days." The book opens with echoes of Edward Thomas and Robert Frost: "Into the forest, dark and deep / With miles to go before I sleep." Sarojini Naidu's "Here, O my heart" melds with David Wagoner's "The forest breathes. Listen," becoming: "Here, O my heart, just listen!" Hall's mastery of rhythm and flow is mesmerizing, transforming the borrowed words into a cohesive and enchanting experience that stands on its own before readers encounter the back matter's guide to "The Poets and the Lines They Wrote." Turk's color-saturated, light-infused illustrations bring the book-length poem to life, portraying a child with a walking stick navigating woods teeming with bears, beavers, wolves, fawns, and other creatures. Lost momentarily in the "pathless woods," the child finds solace as the leaves "speak bliss to me." A striking palette of teals, coppers, purples, and midnight blues immerses readers in this enchanting exploration of nature and verse. Julie DanielsonMarch/April 2025 p.91 (c) Copyright 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
An ode to our natural world that draws on poetic wordsmiths of the past. A curious, tan-skinned, curly-haired child in a wide-brimmed hat follows a path into the forest, heeding its siren call. Along the way, the unnamed youngster discovers the calming sensory experiences of nature and all that it has to offer, from the way "the branches rustle, strange and stirred" to the way "the leaves kick'd by my feet soon sing." As the journey progresses and night approaches, the child is comforted by the joy of being outdoors before heading to bed and waking up near the cool comforts of nature. Hall's cento poem text uses lines from the poetry of Robert Frost, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Emily Dickinson, among others whose works "were their own tributes to the woods" and whose "messages hold the same meaning today." Orange, yellow, and purple gouache illustrations are dramatic in scope--vast and grand, yet nurturing at times--with the branches acting as arms keeping the child close. Backmatter includes an author's note as well as a further look at cento poems and tips for readers to create their own work. A list of "poets and the lines they wrote" is also provided, though the titles of the works aren't cited. Nature in all its humbling majesty.(Picture book/poetry. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
