Cynthia Rylant

This book laid me out.

While not feeling too heavy or looming for a picture book, as an adult (and/or as someone who has been through some Times) this definitely hit hard. With a lovely, softly building, hopeful message, represented/complimented well by the art - in looming darkness, in clear simplicity, in teeming complexity.

Life is beautiful and complex, starting small and spreading, love is everywhere, and It is always worth waking up to see what may happen.… (meer)

My first experience with Cynthia Rylant's work was via her marvellous poetry; while this is not poetry, there retains a similar feeling to the storytelling herein, soft and cohesive.

This is also, I believe, the first time I've seen the story of Sleeping Beauty used so directly to make the point that sometimes all one can do is wait; some things just take time to pass. It was well done and nicely handled, neither suggesting giving up nor hopelessness.

I also liked that it is not solely because Sleeping Beauty is the princess she is to be blessed by fairies - that all children in this kingdom are - and, of course, that the angry fairy is represented as bitter and hopeless herself rather than simply nastiness for its own sake, as is sometimes common.… (meer)

{My thoughts} – Poppleton is a fun series for children. It’s about a pig that well isn’t exactly common in his ways and beliefs. He has an odd way about going about things and a different type of humor to most the other characters within the pages of the books.

This is a book that has a couple of short stories within the pages. The illustrations and the text go hand and hand. They help the child to be able to imagine what the author and the illustrator are both trying to convey to the reader. The illustrations are well done and are a great portrayal of the text. The text I think sometimes is a bit much on a few of the pages, but for the most part it is simple and easy for a child to read and follow a long with.

I did enjoy this book as much as I’d enjoyed the first book in the series. I do need to get a hold of the second as I realize I’d skipped over it some how. I look forward to reading more in this series in the near future!… (meer)