A Starlit Somersault Downhill

As autumnal leaves fall from the trees a frolicsome rabbit receives a warning about the hardships of winter: " 'It is not wise,' the brown bear said, / 'to ask of snow your daily bread.' " He invites the rabbit to join him in sleep "till the hills go green and rivers run." After a devastating first frost, the rabbit accepts the bruin's hospitality. But as his hulking friend succumbs to a profound slumber, he tosses and turns until he reaches his own conclusions: " 'It is not wise for us, dear bear, / when snow combs silver from her hair-- / and stars are shears and hills are sheep, / it will not do to fall asleep.' " Willard's ( Pish Posh, Said Hieronymous Bosch ; A Visit to William Blake's Inn ) typically sophisticated language gains meaning through repeated readings, and her sonorous rhyming couplets impart liveliness to nature's sleeping season. Lavishly detailed, full-spread watercolors afford views of untidy woods and tousled fur--they bristle with energy even as they suggest the restlessness youngsters may experience in the deep of night, wide awake and alone. Capping Pinkney's sumptuous display is a foldout on the final spread, where the rabbit, presented on a grand scale, leaps climactically and gloriously. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-9. With a rhyme that's pleasant to the ear, if not always clearly understandable to young listeners, Willard introduces a bear who invites a bunny to share his lair during the long, snowy winter. The rabbit agrees, but as soon as the bear falls asleep, the rabbit has second thoughts: "Some go in green, some go in white. / The snow's footfall is very light. / It is not wise for us, dear bear, / when snow combs silver from her hair / and stars are shears and hills are sheep, / it will not do to fall asleep. / How inconvenient to play dead!" Like lightning, the rabbit is out the door of the cave, back into the sunlight. Pinkney's impressive two-page spreads fill the pages with stars, snow, leaves, trees, and, of course, the two unlikely roommates. Graceful in both picture and word, this creates a mood that transcends the intricacies of the text. Ilene Cooper