Sleepytime Rhyme - Hardcover

Charlip, Remy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688162711 ISBN 13: 9780688162719

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1999

Synopsis

Affectionately illustrated, a lyrical, comforting picture book shows a mother and baby playing in the nursery, and the beguiling backdrops feature the clouds, the stars, the moon, and more mirroring their unconditional devotion.

About this title

About the Author

Remy Charlip knew he wanted to be involved with picture books when he graduated from Cooper Union in 1949.He says he was fortunate to have begun his career with two brilliant picture book pioneers:Margaret Wise Brown (The Dead Bird and David's Little Indian) and Ruth Krauss (A Moon or a Button).Since then he has collaborated with many talented authors as well as written and illustrated such modern classics as Thirteen, Arm In Arm, and Fortunately.

In addition, Mr. Charlip has acted in and written plays, choreographed and performed dances, and designed sets and costumes.He lives in San Franscisco, California.

Reviews

PreS An addition to the growing body of picture books portraying parental love. The focal point is a mother and her baby performing a pas de deux in sleepwear, framed by a bed and window. The outside views change with every page, but all of them present parent-and-child images (birds, felines, trees, rainbows) with the same simple curved-line features found on the humans. The use of lavender watercolor wash on textured-paper backgrounds for the text provides a twilight aura throughout. In the penultimate scene, mother and child are silhouetted against a panorama depicting all previously seen groupings; finally, they embrace in sleep. The pleasing rhyme includes some whimsy: "I love /your special/face,/your eyes,/your mouth./I love/your knees,/your north,/your south." Youngsters will delight in both the sounds and shapes of this title, the latter well-defined with black outlines. This gentle ode begs to be shared at bedtime; it is also a good choice for infant programs, where parents can flow with the cadence and revel in their babies. Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Charlip (Fortunately) brings his expertise to this simple yet endearing bedtime book. Sitting on a bed before a pair of gracefully billowing curtains, a mother cuddles her baby and tenderly makes an inventory: "I love your hands/ your teeth, your nose/ your ankles, feet/ and all ten toes." Variations on this theme appear on each page ("I love your knees, your north, your south"), giving the text an incantatory feel. Charlip's depiction of the mother and child is highly stylized: just three small arcs on each character's face represent the eyes and mouth. These minimal facial features are also used to personify a series of unlikely mom-and-baby pairs glimpsed out the window. A smiling cloud embraces a smaller one; the changing scenery also includes little trees, suns, moons and stars shepherded by their mothers. The artist's skillful visual shorthand and his use of warm, stained-glass colors (particularly the rich violet of the full-bleed background) ward off sentimentality and bring on a happy, jazzy mood. His work joyfully telegraphs the utter bliss of two humans totally caught up in one another. All ages. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688162711
• ISBN 13: 9780688162719
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Charlip Remy
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32