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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Poetry Friday - A review of Red sings from the treetops: A year in colors

Every so often I come across a book of poetry that is so wonderful that I find myself picking the book up and dipping into it on a regular basis. Today's title is just such a book, and if you are the kind of person who loves beautiful language that is rich in imagery, then this is the book for you.

Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Poetry Picture book
For ages 6 and up
Houghton Mifflin, 2009, 978-0-547-01494-4
   Nature is full of colors, and if you take the time to look around, you will come to appreciate the bright reds, yellows, blues, and purples around you. In this gorgeous image-filled picture book, Joyce Sidman explores the changing seasons in terms of the colors that we can explore with all of our senses.
   She begins with spring, when red birds sing as they perch in the treetops “each note dropping / like a cherry / into my ear.” This is the time when pansies “beam at each other / with bright velvet faces” that are yellow and purple.
   In summer, the heat of yellow radiates off everything. Tiny hummingbirds with red throats “darts, jags, / hovers” in the garden. In the evenings, the shadows creep across the land so slowly that one barely notices they are there until everything is tinged with purple.
   In this fabulous book, Joyce Sidman’s incredibly powerful poems are perfectly paired with Pamela Zagarenski’s lovely multimedia artwork. Joyce shows us how colors can be smelled, touched, and heard as well as seen. She gives us a sensory journey that we will be happy to come back to again and again as the seasons unfold around us.
   Readers of all ages will love this award-winning book. 

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