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What happens when it's bimulous and the sky is like lace? Strange and splendid things! Otters sing, trees dance, and the grass is like gooseberry jam. There's a special party that anyone can attend. Anyone, that is, who knows the rules and isn't afraid of plum-purple shadows, can cook spaghetti and would like to teach a new song to the otters. Back by popular demand, this whimsical picture book illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winner Barbara Cooney's lush watercolors is as resonant today as when it was first published almost thirty years ago.
When The Sky Is Like Lace FROM THE PUBLISHER What happens when it's bimulous and the sky is like lace?Strange and splendid things! Otters sing, trees dance, and the grass is like gooseberry jam. There's a special party that anyone can attend. Anyone, that is, who knows the rules and isn't afraid of plum-purple shadows, can cook spaghetti and would like to teach a new song to the otters. Back by popular demand, this whimsical picture book illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winner Barbara Cooney's lush watercolors is as resonant today as when it was first published almost thirty years ago. Author Biography: Elinor Lander Horwitz is the author of a number of books for young and adult readers including How To Wreck a Building, Sometimes It Happens and Contemporary American Folk Artists. Barbara Cooney (1917-2000) is the author and illustrator of many books for young readers including Miss Rumphius, Eleanor, Island Boy, and Hattie and the Wild Waves. She is one of the few illustrators to have received the Caldecott Award twice, for Chanticleer and the Fox in 1959 and for Ox-Cart Man in 1980.
FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly Otters, snails and three girls eat, sing and frolic on a "perfectly bimulous" night in When the Sky Is Like Lace (1975) by Elinor Lander Horwitz, illus. by Barbara Cooney. The trio of girls shares a magical evening as the eucalyptus trees sway and the grass smells of gooseberry jam. Cooney's enchanting renderings of the "strange-splendid and plum-purple" scenes manifest the magic of both the twilight hour and the text. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Amie Rose Rotruck
What happens "on a bimulous night" when "the sky is like lace"? Horowitz has the answers in this wonderfully whimsical picture book. Otters sing insulting songs to snails. There are certain rules you must follow if you go out, such as "Never talk to a rabbit or a kissing gourami." People also exchange presents "like three fireflies in a jar." After one bimulous night, Horowitz then gives instructions for what to do on the next bimulous night. Horowitz's text is pure magic. Her observations such as "the grass is like gooseberry jam" are truly original and will instantly entrance any reader. Cooney's illustrations compliment Horowitz's words perfectly. Her filmy and purple and orange heavy pictures tie the sometimes nonsensical phrases together. The last two page spread is one of the most beautiful illustrations ever to grace a children's book. 2004 (orig. 1975), Viking, Ages 4 up.
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