MAD SUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
by Ruth Brown & illustrated by Ruth Brown
Brown (Toad, 1997, etc.) delves into a visual and verbal world of M.C. Escher proportions. In rhyming verse a young girl recounts her peculiar experiences occurring “one midsummer night in winter,” weaving a tale of singing flowers, blooming birds, and a feline spat ineptly arbitrated by the classic trio of see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil monkeys. Brown’s verse, overflowing with oxymorons, challenges readers to be especially attentive to the text in order to catch the puns in the lines: “Quite clearly in the distance,/but almost out of sight,/two fat cats were yowling,/preparing for the fight.” Her elaborate, full-page illustrations also demand in-depth perusal. Fantastical landscapes with unusual creatures fill the pages; there are plenty of minute details to delight observant readers. With the extravagant improbabilities of the rhymes to entertain the younger set and intricate word games to engage older readers, Brown’s homage to the absurd has wide appeal. (Picture book. 3-7)