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Summary
Summary
A boy and his father share a winter night of sledding. Outside, the crescent moon is shining brightly and the world is covered with snow. Inside, a boy and his father feel sad. So they put on their hats and coats and climb a hill, pulling a red sled. Father and son climb aboard and zoom down the hill under a starlit sky. With their spirits lifted high, they return home for a mug of hot chocolate. Then it's time for bed. Patricia Thomas's loving story, affectionately illustrated by Chris L.Demarest, is told with the utmost simplicity.
Author Notes
Patricia Thomas is the author of " There Are Rocks in My Socks," Said the Ox to the Fox, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein, and " Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" illustrated by Wallace Tripp. She is senior writer and editor for Marywood University and lives in Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
Chris L. Demarest has written and illustrated many books for children, including No Peas for Nellie, Benedict Finds a Home, and Clemens' Kingdom, all Junior Library Guild selections. Among his other titles are Firefighters A to Z, a New York Times Best Book for Children, and My Little Red Car, a Parents' Choice Award winner. He lives in New Hampshire.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A father and son go sledding down a hill one snowy night in this charming picture book. The brief text consists of easy-to-read words in rhyming pairs ("Still hill./Far star./Snow aglow"). According to an author's note, the structure of the story-poem was inspired by an ancient writing pattern called chiasmus, "a format that creates a kind of mirror image." Bright watercolor pictures capture perfectly the downcast faces of the characters when they are stuck inside during a snowstorm ("Sad lad./Sad dad"), their expressions of happiness and excitement during their nocturnal adventure on the red sled ("Go! Go!/Whoa! Whoa!"), and their cozy contented smiles as they enjoy hot chocolate back home afterward ("Snug hug"). This is a great book for storytime and one-on-one sharing, and beginning readers will be able to follow the simple language presented in large black script.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Preschool) This picture-book poem begins with two words in large type: "Red sled." Then a "sad lad" and "sad dad" (perhaps suffering from cabin fever?) suit up and head out into the snowy night for some joyous sledding down a steep, snow-covered hill. The ride ends with a "flip-flop stop" and a return to their cozy home for the now "glad lad" and "glad dad." As Thomas explains in a closing note, the poem's structure makes an arc that echoes the shape of a hill in a very gratifying way. Demarest's watercolors fill each page to the edges with straightforward images, reinforcing the few words rather than focusing attention on busy details. He creates a nice contrast between the icy blue world outside and the lamp-lit warmth of the house. With its evocative mood and tender simplicity, this will be a good choice both for storytime groups and for new readers. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A father and son go sledding in this deceptively simple tale. They are sad, so the father takes the boy out for some fun, as conveyed through a brief but descriptive poem. The lettering that makes up the clipped rhymes is as large as the subjects of the watercolor illustrations. Demarest uses rough black outlines and lots of color in his close-up paintings, father's and son's faces clearly reflecting the thrill of the ride. In a concluding note, Thomas explains that the poem is based on an ancient form called chiasmus in which the text leads up to a center point and then reverses its pattern. She illustrates the form on the last page of the book, where the poem is printed in full to show the pattern of rhyming pairs. A rabbit that appears throughout stands as visual counterpoint to the verse. Just why father and son start out so sad is never revealed, leaving the listener to ponder. The rhyme works wonderfully with the simple yet very effective paintings. A quietly exhilarating ride. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A dad, a lad, and a red sled are the just-right combination for a story-poem about a father-son nighttime sledding adventure. The minimal text is mostly comprised of two rhyming words per page that set the stage and describe the action: Sad lad. Sad dad. Fat hat. Knit mitt. Still hill. Far star. Snow aglow. The bright, loosely rendered watercolor illustrations embellish the spare text adding a few details here and there, for example, a rabbit witnessing the action and kittens sharing the cozy scene after the sledding adventure. In a short author's note, the reader is informed that this was inspired by an ancient form of writing called chiasmus that creates a mirror image with words flowing toward a center point and then reversing. The entire 70-word text of the story is then repeated on the page in a sort of concrete poem format to illustrate the connection. This romp can be enjoyed by the youngest listeners, beginning readers, and older children learning various forms of writing.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2008 Booklist
