Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Moon is Going to Addy's House by Ida Pearle


As Addy's family drives home from a play date in the city, she notices the moon is following them home. As the car continues to drive away from the city and back to her home in the country, Addy observes, not just the moon, but the wondrous world around her:

The moon is following us
across the bridge as the sun sets.
Roll down the window and breathe deep.
I've caught it! 
But only for a moment. 

Poetry doesn't always have to come in words. Sometimes poetry speaks in pictures, movement, music, or all of these things at once. The Moon is Going to Addy's House is a beautiful example of how poetry can be created in the confluence of art forms. It is a book that feels both classic and modern, both back in time and of the time.  

The whimsical, dreamlike illustrations evoke a sense of movement and flow, which is an incredible talent given that the medium Ida Pearle uses here is cut-paper college, which, in my observation, can sometimes be flat and stagnant. And despite the family in this book appearing like a typical middle/upper class family, there are page spreads, and even the cover, that give the book an almost indigenous or tribal quality to it, making it beautifully provocative, while also being sensitive and delicate at the same time.
The Moon is Going to Addy's House
I could see this book getting some love during award season.


The Moon is Going to Addy's House by Ida Pearle
Expected publication: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Dial
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
Disclosure: Finished copy provided by publisher

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1 comment:

  1. This most certainly feels whimsical. Thanks for sharing it. The illustrations are stunning. I particularly liked this phrase: "a beautiful example of how poetry can be created in the confluence of art forms." You got me!

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