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Summary
Summary
Ever wondered about the mysterious place we all visit when we fall asleep? Robert Louis Stevenson's classic children's poem about dreamland is given new life in this wonderfully illustrated book. Accompanied by Robert Hunter's bold and beautiful illustrations, this picture book will bring the beloved Scottish author's work to a whole new generation of young readers.
Author Notes
Novelist, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. A sickly child, Stevenson was an invalid for part of his childhood and remained in ill health throughout his life. He began studying engineering at Edinburgh University but soon switched to law. His true inclination, however, was for writing. For several years after completing his studies, Stevenson traveled on the Continent, gathering ideas for his writing. His Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey (1878) describe some of his experiences there. A variety of essays and short stories followed, most of which were published in magazines. It was with the publication of Treasure Island in 1883, however, that Stevenson achieved wide recognition and fame. This was followed by his most successful adventure story, Kidnapped, which appeared in 1886.
With stories such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, Stevenson revived Daniel Defoe's novel of romantic adventure, adding to it psychological analysis. While these stories and others, such as David Balfour and The Master of Ballantrae (1889), are stories of adventure, they are at the same time fine studies of character. The Master of Ballantrae, in particular, is a study of evil character, and this study is taken even further in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
In 1887 Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, went to the United States, first to the health spas of Saranac Lake, New York, and then on to the West Coast. From there they set out for the South Seas in 1889. Except for one trip to Sidney, Australia, Stevenson spent the remainder of his life on the island of Samoa with his devoted wife and stepson. While there he wrote The Wrecker (1892), Island Nights Entertainments (1893), and Catriona (1893), a sequel to Kidnapped. He also worked on St. Ives and The Weir of Hermiston, which many consider to be his masterpiece. He died suddenly of apoplexy, leaving both of these works unfinished. Both were published posthumously; St. Ives was completed by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and The Weir of Hermiston was published unfinished. Stevenson was buried on Samoa, an island he had come to love very much.
Although Stevenson's novels are perhaps more accomplished, his short stories are also vivid and memorable. All show his power of invention, his command of the macabre and the eerie, and the psychological depth of his characterization.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In his first book for children, British illustrator Hunter brings substantial depth and poignancy to Stevenson's 1885 poem. A white, shaggy-haired boy sits glumly at the kitchen table as the poem opens ("From breakfast on through all the day/ At home among my friends I stay"), staring at children playing outside; the following spread shows him holding court in front of an audience of toys, and a glimpse of a crutch reveals why he is stuck indoors. Upon falling asleep, the boy soars into dreamland. Hunter uses lurid shades of pink and blue to striking, cinematic effect as the boy leaps across an airborne river of furniture, toys, and everyday objects to arrive in the land of Nod. The repurposing of objects from the boy's home offers fresh delights with every page turn: a giant spoon serves as a boat, a desk lamp becomes a bridge, and the boy and his toys, now brought to life, soar through the sky in paper airplanes. It's a sympathetic portrait of a child making the best of his convalescence, and an enticing vision of the wonders that await in dreams. Ages 3-7. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A child confined indoors by an injury tumbles off to dreamland in this surreal but comforting edition of the classic short poem.The mise-en-scne is the illustrator's invention, as the poem is a generalized rumination. In Hunter's rendition, the narrator is a white, pajama-clad lad whose condition is indicated by the presence of a crutch and the soft-boiled egg he doesn't seem particularly interested in eating. Clambering over piles of outsize furniture and household bric-a-brac, the child is joined on a nightly jaunt by several mildly odd toysnotably a disembodied hand and a doll with a conical headthat provide help and companionship until, as a humongous sun rises, the invalid glides home atop a paper airplane. Lit by the huge, lambent moon, Hunter's neatly limned dreamscapes are more exhilarating than otherwise, even when the accompanying line alludes to "many frightening sights abroad." The last lines express the narrator's regret at not being able to return to Nod or hear the "curious music" there, but in token that the confinement is but temporary, the child, hobbled by a heavy cast on one leg, is last seen happily getting paper-airplane "Get Well Soon" notes from friends waiting outside the bedroom window. A warm reminder that adventures await, no further away than the nearest pillow. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Hunter arrestingly reimagines Stevenson's classic children's poem in this warmly illustrated picture book. A little boy housebound by an injured leg gazes out the window at his friends playing outside, but has his own imaginative kingdom indoors to keep him company. At night, the toys and objects that filled his waking world take on new life in his dreams, becoming gargantuan, animated creatures or parts of the geography of the Land of Nod. Glowing sunset pink highlights and shadowy, nighttime blues color the fantastical scenes of Nod, and discovering links between the boy's daytime games and his dreamworld makes for an engaging hunt. With only one or two lines per page, the pictures do the majority of the storytelling, but they're rich in detail and carry it well. Savvy little ones might notice, for instance, that an injury the boy suffers in Nod he steps on a cactus while leading a jaunty parade recalls the cast he wears in the daytime. This brightly illustrated take on a classic is a natural fit for bedtime.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist