Horses of Dreamland

Adept at conjuring up mysteries and supernatural tales, Duncan is a poet as well, composer of the fantasy flight so hypnotically described and depicted here. Diamond's illustrations surpass her previous marvels and almost compel the reader to concentrate on them rather than on the lyrics. The story starts with the child who dreams of horses; she ""flies fast and far at night/And travels miles of moon-trail/ Before the sky grows bright.'' On the breathtaking flight, the girl soars on a noble steed over mountains, into a valley where wild horses join her. There she chases nightmare wolves and arrives home with the dawn, when the dream horses go to sleep and dream of children who ride them at night. The colors and figures in the paintings are light-filled, almost transparent yet tangible, down to the lace curtains in the child's room. (28)