Sylvia Long

My youngest son has suffered from severe asthma ever since he was an infant and he's almost 26 years old now. Some of my most painful memories are of watching him struggle with the torture of this disease when he was very small, and feeling the awful helplessness a parent feels when they have done all they can and still the suffering continues. When my son was at his sickest we would snuggle close and I would rub his back and quietly sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to him in a slow, show more soothing voice. Sometimes I would need to sing it for a long while before he could finally relax enough to fall asleep. I had to learn all the verses besides the familiar one and I had to make up several additional ones, too! As he grew older I continued to sing it when things were bad. When he was sad or in pain or facing a tough time, he would cuddle up and ask for a back rub and "Twinkle Twinkle." I think he was 18 the last time I sang it and he was suffering heartbreak rather than asthma. Well, to get to the point, this book does complete justice to the special song that has meant so much in our lives. It has all of the verses and they are very beautiful. Sylvia Long's lovely illustrations show little animal children dressed in cute clothes like sweaters and blue jeans as they sit together on a country hill gazing up at the diamonds in the sky. Then we see each of the children go to their own homes where their loving parents cuddle them off to bed. They have such cute and colorful jammies on. The love between a parent and child shines throughout this little charmer just like a twinkling star. I love it! show less

This beautiful little book should be a part of every child's Yuletide celebration. The text consists of the words to the Old Welsh traditional carol, "Deck the Hall" and as such comes equipped with plenty of merry holiday ambiance and the illustrations of Sylvia Long make the carol into a magical Yuletide treasure. A loving family of rabbits celebrates the season together with Mama, Papa and their little son hanging the yew garlands, the colored lights,and ornaments (including the special show more carrot ornament of course!) and getting all dressed up in their gay apparel for a worship service complete with carolling. They cuddle together before the blazing Yule fire, enjoy hot steaming mugs of hot cocoa and have fun cutting out cookies together. The little boy gets flour on the red flannel sleeves of his Dr. Dentons as he carefully works the star cookie cutter and Mama looks on encouragingly. The family strings popcorn, cranberries and nuts to trim the pine tree outdoors for the birds and tiny wreaths of suet and seeds are tied on with crimson ribbons. Bundled up in their soft warm jammies the family reads a Yuletide story before Mama and Papa tuck their little son into bed beneath a charming patchwork quilt. They stand snuggled together in the doorway, looking lovingly at their beautiful sleeping boy. Excitment abounds as the presents are opened in the morning and a fun-filled day of ice-skating, sledding and making snow angels begins. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
I really love this little jewel of a book. show less

4.5 years into motherhood, and I realized nursery rhymes were not a big part of my son’s childhood like they were mine. He got a kick out of reading experience though. I think partially because I tried to SING as many of the rhymes as I could remember (I am not a good singer at all, but he loved it nonetheless). The illustrations were also beautiful.

The immensely talented Sylvia Long, whose gorgeous artwork can be seen in fairy-tale titles like Sylvia Long's Thumbelina and Sylvia Long's Mother Goose, as well as Dianna Hutts Aston's gorgeous natural-history picture-books (An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed Is Sleepy, etc.), turns her attention to the well known Christmas carol in this cute holiday book. Using the lyrics of Deck the Halls as her text, Long depicts a family of bunnies, as they prepare for and celebrate the holiday, donning their gay show more apparel, and trolling their yuletide carols.

As with many of the other Christmas carol picture-books I have been reading, this season, I listened to a recording of the song, done by the Deller Consort, while reading, and that greatly enhanced my experience! These aren't really stories, after all, but songs, so having the music to hand is a great bonus. The artwork here is cute - bunny-lovers will be in seventh heaven - despite not being a personal favorite, when it comes to my appreciation of Long's work. All in all, this is a solidly engaging presentation of this beloved Christmas carol, one I would recommend to those readers looking for such titles, or to fans of the artist. show less