Available:*
Material Type | Library | Call Number | Item Barcode | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Searching... Amesbury Public Library | E DILLON | 32114002562610 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library | JJ DILLON | 32120001307493 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library | JJ DIL | 30470001773802 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Ipswich Public Library | JE DILLON | 32122002758682 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library | J-ER DIL | 31548003293488 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library | JP PEOPLE FAMILY DIL | 31478003589588 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Tewksbury Public Library | JJ DIL | 32132003179432 | Searching... Unknown |
Book | Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library | PICTURE BOOK DILLON | 32136003405994 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon celebrate the love we feel for our children in this touching, multi-generational story about the lasting power of family. Simple words and colorful paintings tell the warm, engaging story of new parents who buy a rocking chair when they are expecting a baby. Bright, sunny illustrations show the precious intimacy between parents and their children; the new mother glows with affection, and the new father reads aloud to their young son. Time passes, and the boy grows up; the beloved rocker is moved to the attic and gathers dust. But when the boy becomes a man, the cycle begins anew. He and his wife have a baby girl, and the rocking chair is needed again. Legendary artists Leo and Diane Dillon are two of the greatest illustrators of our time. This is their final collaboration, inspired by their own rocking chair. It is a tender tribute to the enduring power of family love-passed from generation to generation. Here is a book for all ages to cherish. It serves as a loving reminder of those who have gone before us-and those who are still to come.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--Time changes many things, but love will always be there, no matter what. A beautiful white rocking chair connects a family across three generations of sleepless nights and lullabies in this story by the award-winning team. Many years earlier, a couple purchased a rocking chair in anticipation of the arrival of their baby boy. Over time, the chair is used in myriad ways, eventually being placed in the attic to gather dust. When the boy grows up and finds himself with his own child on the way, the chair reprises its role with a brand new baby girl. Sentimental and heartfelt, this story emphasizes the deep roots familial love can have. Tender moments of affection and loss are echoed within the text and illustrations. Soft, muted colors create a backdrop of calm and serenity while concise text explains the events of the story. The endpapers begin with a daytime scene and finish with the same scene at night, depicting the predictable rotation of the earth that moves everyone ceaselessly forward in time. VERDICT A beautiful bedtime story for families of all kinds to share across generations.--Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver Public Library
Publisher's Weekly Review
Spare, serene paintings cast a tranquil air in this story by the Caldecott Medal--winning team (Ashanti to Zulu), completed by Diane after Leo's death in 2012. With a child on the way, a young couple hunts for furniture. They spot a white rocking chair, "perfect for the baby's room," and the new mother soon rocks her baby in it. As a toddler, their boy rocks "back and forth, pretending the chair was a wild horse." Years pass. When he leaves home, the chair goes to the attic; later, his father dies. The son's next visit brings a new family member--"Mom, this is the woman I want to marry." Soon, there's a new child, and the rocking chair is brought back into service: "The grandmother sat in the rocking chair and sang softly to the baby." Following a multiracial family's cascade of care and affection from generation to generation, graceful scenes feature milky blues and mauves as well as soft, rounded shapes. In this family's story--which closely follows the Dillons' own--love occurs alongside loss and new life in reassuring snapshots of cozy domesticity. Ages 3--5. (Oct.)
Horn Book Review
In this final collaboration (a note explains that much of the book, which was drawn from the couples own experiences, had been finished and put aside before Leo Dillons death in 2012), a rocking chair bought in anticipation of a babys birth is well loved, well used, and then passed down to the next generation, where the cycle begins again. According to a prefatory art note, the Dillons acrylic paintings were inspired by the art of Milton Avery, with flat pastel shades, shapes pared down to essentials, and minimal facial expressions. A very simple book design, with most pages consisting of tall rectangular paintings with text underneath, is occasionally broken up by dynamic double-page spreads full of movement: the couples young son pretending that the rocking chair is a wild horse racing across the plains; the now-grown-up sons small daughter pretending that it is a sailing ship, drifting across the clouds. Endpapers reflect the passage of time, opening upon a golden sunrise and closing at night, with a full moon rising. This is a quiet story with underpinnings of love, loss, and the strength of family bonds; ultimately hopeful and forward-looking. Like her grandparents and parents before her, the little girl knew the love of her family would always be there. And that was what mattered most. martha v. parravano September/October 2019 p.56(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A multigenerational story about a beloved rocking chair that connects the members of one family.In this true story, husband-and-wife author/illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon recount how they bought a bentwood rocker when they were expecting their son. In this chair, the father read stories to the boy. Alone in it, the boy rode the chair across the room as if it were his horse. When empty, the chair held his toys. As the boy grew older, the rocker got less use, prompting the family to store it in the attic. The boy grew into adulthood, his father died, and later the son introduced his mother to his future wife. When she is expecting a daughter, the rocker gets retrieved from the attic and is again put to use for a new generation to enjoy. More simply illustrated than many of the Dillons' picture books, this story employs a palette primarily of blues, browns, greens, grays, and other earth tones. The illustrations emphasize the closeness of the family, regardless of what they are doing, and although the text makes no comment about the characters' backgrounds, the fact that the boy's father is black, his mother is white, and the woman he marries is Asian normalizes multiethnic families.This quiet story exudes intergenerational love. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This touching tale of intergenerational familial love the final book by the multi-award-winning Dillons (Jazz on a Saturday Night, 2007) is sure to pull at heartstrings. Centered around the titular chair, the story follows a young interracial couple and their son, who finds comfort in and plays with the rocker until he grows up, makes new friends, and rarely thinks about the chair. The young man continues to age, marries, and finds use for the neglected chair as he and his wife have their own child. Endearing, sentimental, and drawn in the distinctive style of the authors, this story will find an audience for those looking for narratives about generational legacies that feature diverse families. Younger readers may not understand the death of the older father, and the palpable sadness portrayed does not make this simple storytime fodder. Still, the loving way in which families are shown to develop and grow is sure to make this a favorite gift for new parents and grandparents as this book adds to the amazing legacy of this incredible creative team.--Shaunterria Owens Copyright 2010 Booklist