Both Sides Now

An illustrated version of the Joni Mitchell song, in which clouds, love, and life itself appear differently when viewed from different perspectives

Grade 1 Up-- Mitchell's lyrics are sophisticated and bemusing, a shrug at life's bewildering disappointments right to the last bittersweet line, ``I really don't know life at all.'' It's hardly appropriate for the picture book audience. The accompanying illustrations follow caterpillars that eventually become butterflies, but not before many pages of overblown, busy, distracting scenes that have little or no connection to the lyrics. The tale of love between two cutesy caterpillars is trite and uninspired. --Phyllis G. Sidorsky, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC -
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mitchell's quintessentially '60s song makes an uneasy transition to print in this one-note picture book. Musically, it has lost none of its ethereal attractiveness, but as a picture book it just doesn't hold water. Like those of most popular songs, the lyrics don't provide the kind of strong narrative drive needed to catch and hold a child's attention. Baker, a British illustrator best known for his Benjamin books, does his best to inject a visual storyline (the courtship of two caterpillars who become butterflies) into the song's ambiguous message of love and the meaning of life, but his efforts are fruitless. The artwork, though colorful, is flat, and given the mercurial lyrics, the book emerges doubly handicapped, likely to leave young readers either puzzled or indifferent. A more entertaining alternative might be to purchase some of Mitchell's recordings and introduce kids to the real thing instead. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.