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Author | Nancy Willard |
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Illustrator | Jerry Pinkney |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature, Children's poetry, picture book |
Published | 1993 (Little, Brown and Company) |
Publication place | USA |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 32 (unpaginated) |
ISBN | 9780316941136 |
OCLC | 24010468 |
Calligraphy by Barbara Bash |
A Starlit Somersault Downhill is a 1993 book by Nancy Willard and illustrator Jerry Pinkney about a rabbit that is invited by a bear to share a cave over winter but instead of hibernating decides to enjoy the outside.
Publishers Weekly, in a review of A Starlit Somersault Downhill, wrote "Willard's typically sophisticated language gains meaning through repeated readings, and her sonorous rhyming couplets impart liveliness to nature's sleeping season. Lavishly detailed, full-spread watercolors afford views of untidy woods and tousled fur--they bristle with energy even as they suggest the restlessness youngsters may experience in the deep of night, wide awake and alone."[3]
A Starlit Somersault Downhill has also been reviewed by Booklist,[4] Kirkus Reviews,[5] The Horn Book Magazine,[6] School Library Journal,[7] and the Cooperative Children's Book Center.[8]
With a rhyme that's pleasant to the ear, if not always clearly understandable to young listeners, .. Graceful in both picture and word, this creates a mood that transcends the intricacies of the text.
In gossamer lyric verse, delicate as early snow, a whimsical tale
Pinkney's realistic watercolors of the bear and rabbit include a final fold-out page and perfectly complement Willard's poetic images of darkness and light, movement and slumber, snow and spring.
This lyrical, lively poem is touched with humor and filled with joy .. Jerry Pinkney's illustrations spanning each two-page spread fill the pages with autumn and winter light.