Beth KrommesReseñas

This is a beautiful and simple bedtime story. The best part, in my opinion, is the page where it says "Here is the key to the house" and it shows the mother kissing her sleeping child. Maybe I'm looking too deep into it, but I think the key is love. And because the house is filled with love, it is also a "home full of light."

This was an artful little book, but I think the black and white palette combined with a POV that slowly creeps closer and closer into the house makes it a tad eerie. The repetative pattern could definitely be soothing to young readers, though! I think this is very much going to be a hit or miss with children.

Beautiful art and succinct text teach about the many spirals found in nature.

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature uses vivid poetry to describe all the beautiful spiral shapes found throughout the world in living creatures and landscapes both large and small. Not only the form and beauty of the spiral is highlighted, but the function. Page after page the author slows down life to observe the different unfurling shapes and purposes of the swirling patterns all around us. A tiny millipede, spiral sheep horns, an octopus unraveling its tentacles or a monkey curling its tail around a branch to hold strong. The sparse verse in this book is perfectly laid across the lovely, detailed illustrations. It will capture the imagination of elementary students who will love to look for the examples of dolphins who curl and bend as they jump in the curve of waves that move under swirling clouds or expand into an unfurling galaxy. A swirl can spin, sparkle, it can twist, hold strong or even snuggle like a mouse in a nest. A delightful book about the form and function of spirals in nature.

Very lovely illustrations.

Very pretty.

I love how Sidman goes beyond simply pointing out instances of spiral formations in nature and demonstrates the different qualities they have and functions they serve. Krommes' illustrations are both graphic and dynamic, encapsulating the synchronous strength and beauty of spirals. C adores this book and has spent the last two weeks pointing out spirals wherever she seems them.

A great bedtime book, it rolls off the tongue, it's full of love, and my two year old is fascinated with the pictures.

Swanson relies on classic nursery rhyme structure to drive the narratiev of this book, which makes it at once recognizable, but what takes this book to the next level are the illustrations by Beth Krommes. Her style immitates wood block printing (an early illustrative technique) and the highly textural nature of the images gives the story a weight and complexity that would not otherwise be present. Each image is in fact so dense with detail that they border on too much, but Krommes has pulled back just enough to toe the line.

This book makes the Fibonacci sequence come to life as it shows its application in nature and all around us. This would be great in a math class when talking about patterns and/or symmetry. It could also be used in a Language Arts class in a poetry unit as the book is written in poems.

I can see why this is a bedtime book, because unfortunately, it is very boring and almost put me to sleep when I've only been awake for 3 hours. The art's pretty, though.

A Caldecott medalist and a Newbery Honor-winning poet celebrate the beauty and value of spirals.What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again—in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear? With simplicity and grace, Joyce Sidman's poetry paired with Beth Krommes's scratchboard illustrations not only reveal the many spirals in nature—from fiddleheads to elephant tusks, from crashing waves to spiraling galaxies—but also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.

This beautifully illustrated book describes different swirls seen in nature and how strong and powerful they are. This would be a great book to use in a math class.

I was overwhelmed with the amount of tiny little details that just elevate the book to an ever higher playing field. The use of text to form the shape of a snail shell --- brilliant. The author is cleaver to introduce the many different types of swirls - gets student thinking like scientists.

The Fibonacci sequence is seen throughout this book. It is a perfect symmetry in nature. There are certain things that naturally grow in spirals and create beautiful perfection. I really liked the shapes and colors in this book and how it points out that spirals can be found in almost all places. It is said that when The Fibonacci sequence is present, humans are naturally attracted to it because humans are attracted to perfection and beauty, I saw that throughout this book.

Show your students how broad science can be with its many fields of study through this book. Dr. Austin read this to us in class and it sparked your interest, it should spark young students as well. There is also an information page at the end to give you all the knows about each part of the book.

This book is one like I have never seen before. I was almost mesmerized while looking at the pages. The visuals and the poetic words were a lovely way to expose nature to children. I absolutely adore the way that this book was composed and it is definitely one of a kind.

It saddens and disgusts me that this is presented as fact and that people actually believe this crap.

A child's book takes him soaring over the country on the back of a bird. This story is about the warmth, familiarity and comfort that can be found in a house, light, bed and book.

This book shows the different things in the house that makes it light up in the night. The sources of light are not always actually lit; they could be the song of a bird or the magic within a book. The child in the book is whisked through the darkness by the bird in his book, who shows the child how the "house in the night," is "a home full of light."

This is a science poetry book. It shows many examples, large and small, of the frequency and virtues of spirals in nature, with a more detailed explanation at the end of how the assorted plants and animals benefit from the spiral shape.

This wondrous poetry book is quite creative and original. While illuminating the natural world, the book also provides a crafty blend of poetry riddles and scientific wisdom. Each set of poems describes a creature or a biological aspect of a meadow setting and asks a question, then each poetry set is followed on the next pages by scientific descriptions or explanations. The meadow scenes of the poetry are enchanting; the wording of the poems and the trailing statements of scientific wisdom are precise and enlightening. This book would be incredibly powerful in any class lessons involving art and poetry, especially in combination with scientific topics. Butterfly Eyes relates the interdependence and interconnection of the natural world, while demonstrating scientific principles such as succession, along with the continual process and presence of change in the natural world.

Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes are my favorite author and illustrator partnership that I've yet encountered during this term, and maybe even in life. The book showcases Sidman's powerful writing and Krommes signature scratchboard illustrations. The book contains an end glossary with scientific terms and definitions.

We really enjoyed this fascinating picture book about all the different spirals in nature, some that you just don't realize are spirals at all! The unique illustrations are what make the book so interesting.

It's a book that's simple enough for a toddler. yet intriguing enough for an adult.

4****

This book goes through and shows you all the swirl shapes that occur in nature. The illustrations are bold and the words are bigger than normal putting more emphasis on the text. The book uses ellipsis to make you want to continue reading. It teaches you about many animals in nature and how they look, and teaches you a little about how these animals survive in the wild. There are many examples in the book you would not even think about when asked to identify spirals and this book would be great for people of all ages. There is two additional pages at the end of the book that review information in the book more proper. Many readers can learn a lot of new things from reading this book and this book can change the way you perceive the world.

Illustrated by Beth Krommes

Swanson was inspired by nursery rhymes / poems handed down through many generations, featuring cumulative patterns (such has The House That Jack Built). In this book, she names all the objects, both in and outside a house at night time, that are familiar and comforting to a child: a key, a bed, a book, the moon, etc. In this way a child examines and is comforted by his/her place in the greater world.

I remember reading cumulative pattern books to my baby brother, my nieces and nephew. They were delighted by the repetition and occasional rhymes. This book didn’t have that same kind of repetition. I see where Swanson was inspired by those types of nursery rhymes and poems, but I didn’t “hear” the magic in the words.

Beth Krommes was awarded the Caldecott Medal for her illustrations. The pen and ink drawings are uniformly dark, with spots of golden yellow light .. from the moon, or a bedside lamp. They are times very focused (an adult hand holding a key), and at other times panoramic (a bird flying across the landscape of a town), but always show the child in relation to this universe. All of them are wonderfully detailed. 4**** for her artwork.