Description
Product Description From the author-illustrator of The Book of Mistakes comes a gorgeous picture book about caring for your own heart and living with kindness and empathy.My heart is a window. My heart is a slide. My heart can be closed...or opened up wide.Some days your heart is a puddle or a fence to keep the world out. But some days it is wide open to the love that surrounds you.With lyrical text and breathtaking art, My Heart empowers all readers to listen to the guide within in this ode to love and self-acceptance. From School Library Journal PreS-Gr 2—This message of this quiet book should be shouted from the rooftops. The theme is elusive at first as are the soft, somewhat tentative pictures. The story begins with a heart in a garden waiting to be nurtured by a little girl. The poetic text describes the heart in a number of unexpected ways. It's a window that can be opened or closed and sometimes it is a puddle or a stain. These metaphorical descriptions move children away from the anatomical and utile aspects of the heart (the pumper of blood with chambers and ventricles, etc.) and offers the idea of the heart as a reflection of the child in the world. The final words carry a lot of power: "I get to decide." The illustrations are crafted with water-based inks and pencils and predominantly feature gray and yellow, dark and light. Throughout, the unifying visual element is a yellow heart in a variety of forms. This can be read to the very youngest of listeners, but even upper elementary children would benefit tremendously from the ideas in this book. Educators can also use this work to show students the different meanings for a single word and the artistic use of metaphor in writing. VERDICT This must-buy for librarians and teachers has myriad educational uses; it begs to be read aloud, and it is a masterful blending of text and illustration.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA Review New York Times bestsellerPacific Northwest Bookseller Association Book Award★ "Soothing, simple phrasing and masterful printmaking harness metaphors to make a heart’s complexity accessible to children just recognizing its many manifestations . . . Sensitive, stunning words and pictures speak directly to young hearts." —Kirkus, starred review★ "This must-buy for librarians and teachers has myriad educational uses; it begs to be read aloud, and it is a masterful blending of text and illustration." —School Library Journal, starred review"Rhyming verse and sweet-tempered artwork by Luyken explore childhood emotions through images of the heart . . . Flashes of brilliant yellow illuminate smudgy black-and-white drawings, and heart forms can be found everywhere, in ironwork, tiny seedlings, and stars. The abstract nature of Luyken’s meditation will draw readers receptive to thoughtful examination." —Publishers Weekly From the Inside Flap My heart is a windowMy heart is a slide.My heart can be closed...or opened up wide.From moments of greatjoy and exuberance tonecessary times of quietcontemplation, your heartis your guide.With lyrical text andbreathtaking art by award-winning author-illustratorCorinna Luyken, My Heartempowers all readers tolisten to the voice withinin this ode to love andself-acceptance. From the Back Cover tiny can grow and broken can mendand a heart that is closed can still open again About the Author Corinna Luyken is the author-illustrator of THE BOOK OF MISTAKES, which received four starred reviews and has been praised by Entertainment Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more. She also illustrated ADRIAN SIMCOX DOES NOT HAVE A HORSE, written by Marcy Campbell. She lives in Olympia, WA, with her husband, daughter, and two cats. You can see more of her work at corinnaluyken.com