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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, December 18, 2015

Poetry Friday with a review of Winter Eyes.

In just a few days it will be the winter solstice, the longest day of the year. I love celebrating the solstice as I feel the day connects me to my ancestors, for whom the solstice was a time of reflection and celebration. It was also the beginning of a season that was often hard and taxing.

Today I bring you a review of a winter poems book that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I hope you will enjoy the book too.

Winter Eyes 
Douglas Florian
Poetry Collection
Ages 5 to 8
HarperCollins, 1999, 0-688-16458-7
   There are so many wonderful things to look forward to in the winter time. There are frozen lakes to skate on, holidays to celebrate, hot cocoa to sip, and nights to spend sitting in front of the fireplace. There are also certain things about winter which we are less keen on like having frozen toes, getting colds, shoveling snow for hours, and having less time to play outdoors because of the shorter days.
   In this collection of twenty-eight poems the author perfectly captures the atmosphere, the joys, the woes, and the celebrations of this season. He describes time spent toasting toes in front of a fire; he ‘paints’ pictures in words of animal tracks in the snow and icicles hanging from the eves. He has created poems that rhyme and poems that do not. He has also created poems which tell a story not only through the words themselves but also by the way those words are arranged on the page. The poems are funny, poignant, descriptive, and expressive and together they present the reader with a charming portrait of wintertime.


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