The sweet folks at Sawbridge Studios sent me a copy of local writer/artist Laura Robinson's book William and the Christmas Moon: A Shadow-Casting Bedtime Story a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to tell you about it; it is so so beautiful - but the time has flown. Now you'll just have enough time to run out before Christmas Eve, because believe me, you'll really love starting a new holiday tradition, sharing this special book with your children.
Robinson's poem-story of William's magical night journey is accompanied by exquisite cut out illustrations designed to be lit on the wall by a cunning little flashlight that comes with each copy of the book. You'll need two AAA batteries. The attached flashlight, which ingeniously hooks to the book with velcro, is best for the images. Our old Maglight distorted the projected shadows.
My girls were squealing with delight at the pictures projected on the bedroom wall; I was entranced by the delicate beauty of the images. Two deer drink water by a moonlit lake. Pinprick stars twinkle over a snowy village. As I read on, my girls fell silent under the spell of the picture show in the darkness. The line, "Darkness frees our eyes/To see what daylight can disguise," made me think that this was a perfect story for the eve of the solstice. And made me think with new gratitude about the very darkness that we work so hard to banish this season.
Robinson has used this lovely shadow technique previously in her book William and the Magic Ring. I'm getting a copy to put under the tree for the girls.
William and the Christmas Moon by Laura Robinson. Sawbridge Studios, 153 West Ohio Street, Chicago and Green Bay Road at Tower Court, Winnetka.
4 comments:
This book sounds great - And I love that they're local and it's about a William. I wonder if they have it at The Book Stall... Just might add it to my to-do's for tomorrow. Thanks for recommending!
Hi Cindy,
This is Bronco. I like the shadow-book idea. You know, Jon, with those spiffy laser-cutter machines that are about the size of a small copier could (physically, that is) produce something like that, or, perhaps you could make some light-weight metal ornaments that have the same purpose, as a novelty! That would be cool.
Anyhow, the reason I am writing is that I saw a very good movie you should check out. I have not been a big fan of George Clooney in the past, but this movie completely changed my viewpoint!
The film is "christmas-ironically" titled "3 Kings." It is a grown-up film of sorts, presenting a believable depiction of a chaotic, worse-than-hell-on-earth of a present day Middle East war zone.
It's a good wake-up-call for too much sentimentality, but has strong, gratifying spiritual themes all its own, which don't let you down. Nevertheless, its not probably appropriate for the little ones.
Seasons Greetings.
Love,
Bronco
These books sound beautiful. Illustrators never cease to amaze me with their creativity.
I, too, have been thinking about darkness recently. On our trip back from Florida, we took a two-hour tour through Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. About halfway through the tour, the guide showed us what it had been like to explore the caves by lantern. Then he blew out the lantern and we were wrapped in complete, utter darkness. I'm still processing the feeling.
I reviewed this book as well. I thought that it was magical. Although Christmas has come and gone, we are still reading our copy.
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