Before Morning
By Joyce Sidman
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016. Picture book.
Newbery Honor winner Joyce Sidman and Caldecott medalist Beth Krommes team up to create this superb celebration of a snowy day. Sidman’s beautiful poem is an invocation, calling for a blanket of snow to cover the busy hustle of the city and bring quiet and stillness.
In harmony with the spare text are Krommes’ beautiful scratchboard illustrations, detailed, cozy, and full of rich colors and textures. The illustrations – which could easily stand on their own as a wordless picture book – show the story of a child who is melancholy at being separated from her mother as she leaves for a long work trip and the opportunities for family togetherness that a wished-for snow day bring.
Combining both talented halves results in the perfect picture book.
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