"Time for bed,"
Mother Earth said.
"Not for a while,"
said her wild child.
"A song, first.
I need a song
to play in my head
before going to bed."
So Mother Earth
gave her child a song....
But then this wild child wants a snack and PJs and a kiss....
Lynn Plourde's text snaps and crackles like the leaves of fall as Mother Earth gently gets her daughter ready for bed. And Greg Couch's extraordinary illustrations take readers from the soft greens of late summer through the fiery oranges of a fall sunset to the peaceful blues of early winter's eve. Wild children and their parents will revel in this scrumptious, loving tribute to the wonders of nature and of family.
Publishers Weekly
As Mother Earth repeatedly tries to put her daughter to sleep, she's met with a repetitive reply ("not for a while") and a variety of stalling tactics. "Each spread offers a number of clues as to the wild child's identity, most of which are smoothly integrated into the artwork," PW said. Ages 3-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The bouncing, methodical rhyme scheme that served Plourde well in her humorous Pig in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud and her recent Moose, of Course! works against the theme in this bedtime book. As Mother Earth repeatedly tries to put her daughter to sleep, she's met with the same reply, " `Not for a while,' said her wild child," who comes up with a variety of stalling tactics, including a song, a snack and, of course, a kiss goodnight. Each spread offers a number of clues as to the wild child's identity, most of which are smoothly integrated into Couch's (Moonball) artwork. While he keeps the girl visibly human in face and stature, fall leaves make up her hair; and hills, streams and stones comprise Mother Earth's beautifully sensuous lines and curves as she gives her daughter the gifts of the season (e.g., a snack of "Crunchy, munchy,/ chewy chestnuts./ Plumpy, lumpy,/ pulpy pumpkins"). His subtle brushwork and golden palette convey a dusk slowly metamorphosing to nightfall. Unfortunately, the jarring closing lines, which describe the mother's kiss, end the book on an eerie note: "A gusty, blustery, twisty embrace./ A crystalish, icicle-ish,/ icebergy kiss." Couch's artwork, showing Mother Earth tucking the girl (revealed to be Autumn) into bed, softens the imagery, but readers may well be put off by the cool language for a ritual usually characterized by warmth. Ages 3-8. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Judy Katsh
A child stalling before bedtime seems to be a universal phenomenon. Here, it takes on added importance when the child who's putting off bedtime is Autumn, and the mother who's quickly losing patience is Mother Nature. In rhymed text, the child begs for one more song, snack, and outfit change as Mother Nature indulges with all the rich bounty and color of the season. Finally, young Autumn winds down and gently falls to sleep, Mother too can relax...until winter awakens! It's a lovely well-told story that emphasizes the seasonal characteristics of autumn while hinting at the circular rhythm of the seasons throughout the year. For young naturalists, the story will spark an urge to investigate. For young writers, the urge will be to write a parallel story about a child of a different season. And for art lovers, the richness of the book's full-page illustrations will delight and impress with its huge range of images created from a limited palette.
Library Journal
chipmunks patter..." to the last caress, "A whooshy, whirlishy,/windswept snuggle," Mother Earth tries to put her wild child, Autumn, to bed. Washes of liquid acrylic in warm browns, greens, and russets fill each double-page spread; the monumental Mother is molded from mountains with tresses of sun-streaked clouds. Autumn is attired in flaming foliage-a whirling dervish of energy. Plourde's inventive rhythm and rhyme keep step with the activity in the forests and fields. Both storytime audiences and individual readers will delight in detecting the changing form and palette used to depict Mother Earth as time passes, and they will rejoice that just as Autumn drifts off to sleep, another child appears: Winter! Pair this with Chris Van Allsburg's The Stranger (Houghton, 1986) for a program presenting intriguing fall personalities. Wild Child will go "a-swooshing" and "a-swirling" off of your shelves.-Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
The change of seasons from fall to winter makes a captivating bedtime story as Mother Nature tries to tuck in her wild child, Autumn. This child will do anything to stay up; when she complains that she needs a song, her mother provides one that includes acorns splattering, leaves crinkling, and birds twittering. Next the child needs a treat, and after she has munched on a bounty of cranberries, nuts, and pumpkins, she has to change into her pajamas. These nightclothes are the flame colors of autumn leaves with orange slippers to match. Before she can really fall asleep, the child demands a goodnight kiss. This "frosty kiss" is necessarily cold and frozen, foreshadowing the next season, but to readers, the effect of such a somber kiss from mother to child is chilling, or at least less than comforting. Finally the child yawns and curls up to sleep, but the mother will not be resting, for another child, Winter, arrives and "can't sleep." Couch's absorbing illustrations match the allegorical aspect of the poetic text, and both transport readers with images of unusual clarity and depth. (Picture book. 3-7)
Read More
