Love and the Rocking Chair

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. [em](Oct.) [/em]