CM Magazine: Song On the Wind.

________________ CM . . . . Volume XXIV Number 36. . . .May 18, 2018

Song On the Wind.

Caroline Everson. Illustrated by Anne Marie Bourgeois.
Markham, ON: Fifth House, 2018.
32 pp., hardcover, $18.95.
ISBN 978-1-92708-330-7.

Subject Headings:
Lullabies-Juvenile fiction.
Bedtime-Juvenile fiction.

Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 3-8.

Review by Tamara Opar.

** /4

Excerpt:

In a long – ago place in a faraway time
A story was sung to the wind.
Lay down your head and I’ll tell you a tale
And the wind might catch it again.

Caroline Everson’s peaceful lullaby is passed on from generation to generation in this lovely bedtime book. The tone of the lullaby offers an atmosphere of quiet melancholy which touches memories of places and times of long ago. The song passes from a mother and child who sing about the sea, to a young boy and his father who continue the story with a song about white bears and a frozen landscape. In this landscape, readers see a child and her grandmother encouraging the song to continue by adding their dreams to the refrain. The timeless story is carried on the wind and will continue to grow and change into the future, always offering comfort and familiarity to those who know its melody.

Musical notes are woven through the artwork of Anne Marie Bourgeois illustrating the lullaby as it floats on the wind through time from family to family. The colourful and expressive pictures are influenced by her indigenous ancestry. The dream-like imagery reflects the narrative of the text by highlighting families, landscapes and the nature that surrounds us.

Song on the Wind is recommended by the publisher for children ages 8-12; however, I would say that the dreamlike quality of this story lends itself easily to settling younger children at bedtime.

Recommended.

Tamara Opar is Section Head of Children’s and Teen Services at the Millennium Branch of Winnipeg Public Library.

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