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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | EASY RYL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | EASY RYL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY RYL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | PICTURE BOOK RYL | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In November, the air grows cold and the earth and all of its creatures prepare for winter. Animals seek food and shelter. And people gather together to celebrate their blessings with family and friends.
Cynthia Rylant's lyrical language and Jill Kastner's rich, cozy paintings capture the cherished moments of this autumn month--the moments we spend together and the ones we witness in the world around us.
Author Notes
Cynthia Rylant was born on June 6, 1954 in Hopewell, Virginia. She attended and received degrees at Morris Harvey College, Marshall University, and Kent State University.
Rylant worked as an English professor and at the children's department of a public library, where she first discovered her love of children's literature.
She has written more than 100 children's books in English and Spanish, including works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her novel Missing May won the 1993 Newbery Medal and A Fine White Dust was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Rylant wrote A Kindness, Soda Jerk, and A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories, which were named as Best Book for Young Adults. When I was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came won the Caldecott Award.
She has many popular picture books series, including Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter and Tabby and High-Rise Private Eyes. (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A poetic text reflects on the month when "the earth is growing quiet." A friendly mouse draws readers into the book by peeking from under a leaf on the cover and title page, scurrying across the dedication page and onto the first spread, and then disappearing. Birds and animals experience the cold, which causes the cows to sleep and the horses to shiver; bees hibernate in "deep, earthy holes-And dogs lie before the fire." A large extended family visits and shares a meal to give thanks, then travels home at night. The well-paced, skillfully painted oil-on-paper paintings are mostly full spreads. Dramatic angles, strong composition, and interesting perspectives enhance the descriptive text. Although not as colorful and appealing as Lois Ehlert's Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (Harcourt, 1991) or as funny and entertaining as Dav Pilkey's `Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving (Orchard, 1990), this book establishes the mood and feel of November. It is an agreeable storytime companion to the above titles, helpful for classrooms wishing to explore the month using their senses, and satisfying for one-on-one sharing.-Debbie Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Beginning with changes in the earth and with animals preparing for winter, this paean to the cozy, tucked-in feeling at the end of the year builds up to a special November day, Thanksgiving. Although the story, complete with horses out by the barn and Labrador retrievers lying by the fireplace, suggests an idealized rural portrait, the mood blends well with the full-page, rough-textured oil illustrations. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A gentle hymn to an autumn month. Starting with the landscape and moving on to animals, then people, Rylants voice describes the scene in immediate terms: leafless trees lovely . . . spreading their arms like dancers; birds that fly away and those that stay know all berries will be treasures. Cats sleep in barn corners and dogs before the fire. In November, an orange smell of squash and pumpkin and cinnamon fills the house: people come to share and to give thanks at winters gate. The brief, evocative text sits on full-page, oil-on-paper paintings. Broad, thick brushstrokes capture the sturdy horses, the little mice, and the country landscape from gray to brown to snowy white. The multigenerational family is clearly delighted to be together. A quiet, pre-holiday gift. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-7. "In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets." Poetic language and lovely oil paintings evoke the traditional and seasonal activities that occur in November. Families gather around the table for a Thanksgiving feast, cats snuggle together in the corner of the barn, "staying birds" bid farewell to "leaving birds" beginning their long journeys. Rylant's words are simple but evocative and filled with wonderful sensory images, similes, and metaphors: the bare November trees are "all sticks and bones . . . spreading their arms like dancers." The smell of November food "is an orange smell. A squash and a pumpkin smell." The verbal images are splendidly captured in Kastner's soft-edged, double-spread paintings, which are rendered in a palette of warm autumn colors and sepia tones. The rich illustrations, done in a painterly style with obvious brushstrokes and texture built up from thick layers of oil paint, are a perfect match for the text. This handsome book is sure to become a new fall favorite. --Lauren Peterson
