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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY LON | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Summary: Describes a night time dream-world where children fly through the clouds, stuffed animals talk, and stars sing.
Author Notes
Jonathan London was born a "navy-brat" in Brooklyn, New York, and raised on Naval stations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. He received a Masters Degree in Social Sciences but never formally studied literature or creative writing. He began to consider himself a writer about the time he graduated from college. After college he became a dancer in a modern dance company and worked at numerous low-paying jobs as a laborer or counselor. He wrote poems and short stories for adults, earning next to nothing despite being published in many literary magazines. For some 20 years before he penned his first children's book, London was writing poetry and short stories for adults. In the early 1970s, he was reading his poems in San Francisco jazz clubs, and those experiences found their way into his witty children's book Hip Cat, which has been featured on the PBS children's television show Reading Rainbow.
After writing down the tale The Owl Who Became the Moon in 1989, London began to wonder if other people might want to read it. He picked up his kids' copy of Winnie-the-Pooh and saw that the book was published by Dutton, so he casually decided to send his story to them. Surprisingly enough, they wanted to publish him. Working with different illustrators, and occasionally with co-authors, London has produced literally dozens of books. Most have appeared under his name, but some have come out under a pseudonym, which still remains a secret.He has published over forty books and has earned recognitions from organizations like the National Science Teachers Association.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This ethereal bedtime book features a flock of children who float out of their bedroom windows and up into the night sky; a luscious, poetic text (``The day is a flower . . . there are petals of soft light in our hair''); and appropriately dreamy artwork. Reminiscent at times of the flying sequence in Raymond Briggs's The Snowman , the nocturnal escapades of London's multicultural cast include a pillow fight amid the clouds, a frolic with the animals in the constellations, a starlight serenade and a final, hand-in-hand descent ``through the wild darkness . . . past the giant trees of earth'' and home to bed. Beautifully suited to reading aloud, the hushed cadences of London's prose blend felicitously with the background illustrations, a gentle combination of soft colored pencil, collage and pastels. Karas fills the spreads with whimsically surreal images: in the serenade scene, for example, the clouds and stars are cutouts, made from musical scores (``A Light Night Music,'' ``Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star''). Children's BOMC main selection. Ages 3-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Just what happens when children fall asleep? Perhaps they float out the window and up into the clouds to meet with all the children of the world. The text is mesmerizing, soporific, and comforting. The mixed-media art combines whimsical detail with striking compositions. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. "Into this night we are rising, leaving our shoes, our toys, and our night-lights. Out the window we are flying, leaving our houses behind." So begins this story of a dream-time gathering of children who fly through a night filled with pillow fights and dragon rides. Karas' simple watercolors show the buoyant children happily nestled in clouds or making music as the night progresses. All comes to a satisfactory end: "Back in our beds the day is a flower .20.20. .There are petals of soft light in our hair." With poetic text and fantasy images ripe with childlike vision, the book will be a nice, slightly offbeat choice for story times and bedtime. ~--Janice Del Negro