Cynthia Rylant

Usually, I find Cynthia Rylant to be just a tiny bit too saccharine, but this one is adorable. Just the right, gentle, introduction to Halloween, with a perfect sort of sweetness. Particularly love that Dad is the only adult in the picture (just on the basis of diverse family structures), and that Herbert comes around to his own brand of fierceness as the book goes on. Great for first Halloweeners and for kids who are nervous or scared, and just a lovely book.

In Ludie's Life, Cynthia Rylant skillfully weaves words to extract the extraordinary from the ordinary. Ludie lives her life the best she can. The slow and steady pace of Rylant's verse seems to mirror the slow and steady passage of Ludie's life. She, like most of us, is forced to come to terms with the incongruous emotions that accompany life. She longs for more, but has found some contentment as a wife and mother in the hard-living hills of West Virginia. She loves her children and show more grandchildren, but has had her fill of raising babies.

I was very moved by the glimpses into this one woman's life, and found myself connecting with her on many different levels. One of my favorite observations from this book is "...if not for the eyes of others looking back at you, you'd never know you stopped being twenty-two and beautiful, you'd never know there are things you don't deserve now, now that you are old."

This seems the kind of book a woman could grow with. Readers of 16, 35 and 50 would probably all find their own solace within this book's pages. show less

Moonlight the cat loves every night, but Halloween is special. Pumpkins smile at her, scarecrows let her sit in their laps, children are out and about in costume - it is a magical time! When the human activities are done, Moonlight watches the moon, spies on an owl and rabbit, and then heads for home...

Simple but descriptive text from author Cynthia Rylant is paired with boldly colorful artwork from illustrator Melissa Sweet in Moonlight: The Halloween Cat, which offers a sweetly reassuring show more look at a holiday that might sometimes frighten very young children. Here in Moonlight's world however, there is nothing to fear, and the child listeners gets to follow along as our feline heroine heads out into the night. Definitely on the sweeter side of Halloween fare, I found this one almost soothing to read, and thought the artwork was lovely. My favorite scene was the one in which Moonlight sits on a branch, looking at the full moon. Recommended to anyone looking for gentler Halloween picture-books for younger children. show less

A young Appalachian boy named Frankie hopes every year that the Christmas Train—a train traveling through the coal towns of the region each holiday season, dispensing gifts to the children from a wealthy man once helped by the local people—will bring him a doctor kit. Each year he is disappointed, receiving other toys, as well as warm winter items like socks, mittens hats and scarves. Eventually, many years later, when Frankie is grown and living far away, his memories of the gifts he show more received, and his own desire to give back, lead him to return to the town of his youth, to become the local doctor...

Originally included in author Cynthia Rylant's 1987 holiday collection, Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season, and then republished in this picture book edition with the artwork of Chris K. Soentpiet, Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story is an engaging tale that addresses a number of important ideas and themes in an understated but moving way. There are the obvious ones, of course, from gratitude to the idea of giving back, especially when one has benefitted in some way from the generosity of others. But there is also the notion of gifts sometimes not being what we want so much as what we need—a reality we may not perceive until much later in life—or of our heart's desire (in this case, Frankie's attraction to medicine and healing) being something we ourselves must seek, rather than being something which can be given to us. The accompanying artwork here, done in gouache, is lovely, and captures the wintry Appalachian setting well. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for Christmas stories set in Appalachia, or addressing themes of gratitude and giving back to one's community. show less