A Forest Song

In what back matter explains is a poetic form called a cento, Hall (How Big Is Baby?) arranges lines taken from various poets’ works into a new piece—a mysterious-feeling creation that describes a journey deep into a forest. Opening with a familiar phrase (“Into the forest,/ dark and deep,/ With miles to go before I sleep”), Hall next borrows a line that invokes the landscape’s sanctity: “Beneath the holy oaks I wander,/ Here, O my heart, just listen!” Rhythmic, swirling gouache paintings stroked in saturated colors by Turk (To See Clearly) show a cloaked and hatted figure, portrayed with orange skin, wandering under the trees, dwarfed by massive trunks and heavy branches. Purple trees whose branches extend toward the night sky next reach in through a window to tuck the child into bed. Context and visual cues make even formal diction (“Hear its greeting bells! Hear its organ swells!/ It will ripple and beat tomorrow still”) intelligible in a collaborative celebration of the forest that also serves as a gentle introduction to poetic conventions. Line sources are listed in back matter, which includes an author’s note. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Feb.)