NORTHERN LULLABY

In gently cadenced verse, Carlstrom personifies features of the natural world and animals of the Far North as family members to whom a Native American child speaks: "Goodnight Grandma River/Frozen below/With lullaby ripples/of pale gleaming light...Goodnight Sister Owl/Quiet your cry,/Fold the night sky close/under dark feathers." From Papa Star and Mama Moon, the poet moves to mountains and trees, creatures great and small, and back to the northern lights as the child sleeps. The Dillons respond imaginatively to the text in magnificent full-bleed spreads, the text in a harmoniously proportioned side margin. Their designs are exquisitely simple: crisply cut areas of slightly modulated color combine to create stylized forms and landscapes. Many of the motifs—fringe, bear claw, wing—refer to Native American art. Set within the serene compositions, each being has a human face and hands—beautifully formed, sculptural, yet imbued with a wise and humorous glow. Outstanding in every way; this stunningly handsome art already has a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators. (Picture book. 2+)