Once Upon a Northern Night
Language: English
Pages: 32
ISBN: 1554981387
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
As the young child sleeps, wrapped in a downy blanket, a snowflake falls, and then another and another. The poem describes the forest of snow-covered pines, where a deer and fawn nibble a frozen apple, and a great gray owl swoops down with its feathers trailing through the snow. Two snowshoe hares scamper and play under the watchful eyes of a little fox, and a tiny mouse scurries in search of a midnight feast. When the snow clouds disappear, stars light up the sky, followed by the mystical shimmering of northern lights - all framed by the frost on the window.
Jean E. Pendziwol's lyrical poem reflects a deep appreciation of the magic of a northern winter night where, even as a child slumbers, the world outside does not rest but continues its own natural rhythms.
Isabelle Arsenault's spare, beautifully rendered illustrations, with their subtle but striking use of color, make us feel that we too are experiencing the enchantment of that northern night. They simultaneously evoke winter's nighttime life and the cozy warmth and security of a beloved child's sleep.
JEAN E. PENDZIWOL Pictures by ISABELLE ARSENAULT GROUNDWOOD BOOKS HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS TORONTO BERKELEY ONCE UPON a northern night while you lay sleeping, wrapped in a downy blanket, I painted you a picture. It started with one tiny flake, perfect and beautiful and special, just like you. Then there were two, and then three. Soon the night sky filled with sparkling specks of white, crowding and
assembled digitally. Design by Michael Solomon
appeared — twinkling points of light hanging in the purple sky. I knew by the time you woke, the sun would have chased them away, so I set them like diamonds on the branches of the willow. Once upon a northern night melodies of green and pink and orange sang across the sky. I tried to capture them but they were much too nimble, and only their rhythm reached you, deep in slumber, rising and falling with each sweet,
appeared — twinkling points of light hanging in the purple sky. I knew by the time you woke, the sun would have chased them away, so I set them like diamonds on the branches of the willow. Once upon a northern night melodies of green and pink and orange sang across the sky. I tried to capture them but they were much too nimble, and only their rhythm reached you, deep in slumber, rising and falling with each sweet,
means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777. Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press 110 Spadina Avenue, Suite 801, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2K4 or c/o Publishers Group West 1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada