Night Cars: gorgeous dreamlike picture book about the traffic below the bedroom
Teddy Jam and Eric Beddows's 1988 classic picture book Night Cars has me absolutely charmed. It's a beat-poetry story of a little boy who drifts in and out of sleep while, on the commercial road below him, cars and people pass by in the night.
The writing is beautiful ("Night cars humming through the snow/Night cars drifting/Night cars slow/Night cars calling out your name/Night cars in your dreams"), and begs to be read aloud, metronomic and soothing.
It's not just the writing that's so enchanting here, it's the sweet, nostalgic paintings, tinged with Dick-and-Jane pastel qualities, but with a dreamlike softness that makes me yawn and want to put my head down on them (click above for a larger scan).
One of the coolest things about fatherhood is discovering some of the really tremendous art -- in all media -- that's targetted at small children. This is a book that begs to be read to a small child in her jammies snuggled in your lap, sweet-smelling hair tickling the underside of your chin.
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Another mesmerizing sleepytime book is "The Little Fur Family" by Margaret Wise Brown ("Goodnight Moon"), illustrated by Garth Williams (there's even a fur-covered edition).
"Night Cars" reminds me of "The Bear's Toothache" by David McPhail, one of my favorite author-illustrators of read-aloud books; here's a sample illustration: http://www.amazon.com/Bears-Toothache-David-McPhail/dp/0316563250#reader
"And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" is a rollicking read-aloud by Dr. Seuss, boisterously illustrated by him in full color (unlike his later great works).
"Make Way For Ducklings" and "Blueberries for Sal" written & illustrated by Robert McCloskey are two more that parents can read over and over without getting tired of them, and older kids will enjoy his resourceful hero "Homer Price" and "Centerburg Tales."
Once there was a baby...
who wouldn't go to sleep
It was given to us by friends 15 years ago; the kids loved it, and we loved reading it.
as the kid of a single parent in the inner city I lived above a lot of stores growing up. this book resonates with some of the memories I have - watching people on the street, the changing colours of the sky, the sights and sounds. many publishers are afraid of poverty and urban experience, their classist biases filter what gets published and what doesn't. and that's why i so rarely saw myself or my experience reflected in the cultural products that did make it to print (or to the screen). amen for this book.
I'm too old to have had this read to me as a child, but somehow, from the title, the cover, the sample text and the pictures, I have this nostalgic-emotional reaction that's usually reserved only for the deepest echoes from childhood.
It looks beautiful.
Teddy Jam? Organizer of the Teddy Bear's Picnic, or a nom de plume?
I hadn't heard of this book, will have to find it.
Second the point about there being a lot of great art in some childeren's picture books. There's a lot of dreck, too, but I've recently read my daughter Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and Berke Breathed's Mars Needs Moms.
I've read this book to my two-year old son so many evenings that I can recite it from memory, as I've had to do on several trips where we forgot to bring the book along. But Corey, why the link to Amazon for information about the book or its author? I struggle to think of a less useful site for information about books and authors.
@5 Weetimmy, you might be right about Amazon's lack of info. I learned from a google search Teddy Jam is Matt Cohen, a Canadian author, sadly deceased, who wrote a lot besides children's books. The "over and over" books for my kid were the Frog and Toad series, read aloud with different voices for each character, which was fun and cute the first fifty times!
Man, Cory, these are the foundational times. The books I read to my three, over and over, really working on the cadence and meaning, and just the sweet, sweet time where there is nothing but you and your kid. Your post reminded me of a retelling of "10 in the Bed" that stuck with us for a long time, but a quick search through the bookshelves suggests we no longer have it. Shame. It was such a great book, with every spread suggesting a David Lean film.
Then there are the Dr Seuss classics, like the Lorax, etc. Interesting to note that either the newer or the North American editions of The Lorax have had a line removed from the page about the Humming Fish: "I hear it's just as bad in Lake Erie."
Ted Giesel sure knew how to get you moving, and any alacrity with my diction can be largely attributed to reading his words aloud, night after night.
Now, that's a gift that keeps on giving, for lots of people.
I really love kids' books that show real world happenings, like the trash collection scene above. But one thing I'm a little less fond of is the uber-abstract lines of poetry like, "Careful with that dream." Let the high school freshman mull that one over. Babies and toddlers need help illuminating actual, concrete objects. When it gets too ethereal, I tend to doubt the educational benefit, but that's just me.
Too bad Will Smith or Jennifer Garner didn't write it. Then it would have gotten way more publicity and recognition. Silly author and illustrator thinks HE can compete with these people who are already famous - doesn't he know that famous people are FAR better at writing books for children?
See, the cool thing about having kids (or in our case, grandkids) around the house is that you can buy and read children's books and not have to feel embarassed by it.
This book reminds me of "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," the swinginest alphabet book evah. At least if you read it properly.
I still remember visiting my cousin's apartment in Boston and staying up at night listening to the street noises, excited by the fact that not everbody had to go to bed at 10PM (like my small town) ...
There is a special place of security and perfect happiness whose inaccessible, effervescent nectar, trapped by the density of time, is somehow tapped by this book.
$5 says that kid falls out the window sooner or later
Very different type of book, but, well, I bought the German version of this last week for my cousin's kid, and am thoroughly in love with it:
http://www.amazon.com/One-Two-Three-Jeremy-Fitzkee/dp/0670061247
Very silly, in a minimalist, deadpan kind of way. Of course, I don't know the English version, but... apparently it contains a roach in a shower cap, so it can't be all bad. *g* (Since a lot of the humour of the book depends on absurd combinations of things that rhyme, an author whose native language is English rewrote, instead of just translated, the text, and the illustrator created new illustrations. So it's essentially a completely different book from the one I bought, but based on the same 'recipe'.)
My parents used to read me that book when I was little.
I looked up this book on Amazon and sneaked a peek inside. The first page that popped up revealed a page with a sign for "Sterios." Is that supposed to be funny? Ironic? Or is it just poor spelling/editing? The book looks cute, but I prefer books to have words spelled correctly. Maybe in context it makes sense. Maybe the kid knows it's not right.
For amazing artistry in childrens' books you should check out the polymer clay stylings of Jeannete Canyon. She has done a number of these clay collage books and they are out*of*sight.
http://amzn.com/1584690623
This book does counting, singing, art, science. Why can't all kids' books be this good? Lots of information on every page. Lots of eye candy on every page, too.
$10 says the kid now suffers terribly from the effects of long-term exhaust fume exposure...
I love reading to my kids, too -- still read to the sixteen year old sometimes. The only problem is I often fall asleep and start just saying whatever I'm dreaming about, they hate that.
The clay stylings reminds me of Barbara Reid -- my kids liked The Party, a rhyming story of some kids going to a big family gathering. Also Eugenie Fernandes' little mouse books (like Sleepy Little Mouse or Big Week for Little Mouse).
I'd like to recommend "What A Wonderful Day To Be A Cow".
http://www.amazon.com/What-Wonderful-Day-Dragonfly-Books/dp/0375802126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251692421&sr=8-1
though it's sadly out of print, it's available fairly cheaply on the used market. #9, your mentioning cadence really resonated with me, and so did some of the suggestions of #1, including "Little Fur Family". First 1 or two readings of "Little Fur Family" resulted in my thinking it was a stupid little book, but the more we read it, the more it became a meditation, a thoughtful measured poem. Same goes for "What a Wonderful Day to be a Cow". It's simple, but thoughtfully timed, and the illustrations are gorgeous.
You can find out more about Night Cars and Teddy Jam's other books here
http://www.groundwoodbooks.com/gw_titles.cfm?pub_id=402