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Dillon, Diane
6 Reviews
(2)
K-3
In this final collaboration (much of the book had been finished before Leo Dillon's death in 2012), a rocking chair bought in anticipation of a baby's birth is well loved, well used, and then passed down to the next generation. Acrylic paintings inspired by Milton Avery use flat pastel shades, pared-down shapes, and minimal facial expressions. A quiet story with underpinnings of love, loss, and the strength of family bonds.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2019
(3)
K-3
Winner of two Caldecott Medals and numerous other awards, the renowned illustrator publishes her first solo book. As Zoe dreams of growing up to be an archeologist, scientist, firefighter, and other pursuits, she works to quiet a negative inner voice that continually questions her aspirations ("That's silly, said the voice"). Soft, earth-toned, neatly framed illustrations depict both child and adult Zoe following her passions in the well-meaning story.
Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty
(4)
K-3
The Dillons' last collaboration aims to empower children, with an ostensibly child-narrated text imagining a world free of poverty and conflict because kids are in charge. But adult voices creep in, and there's no attempt to explain how kids would achieve their admirable goals. Rich illustrations show diverse groups of cheerful children working together--volunteering in hospitals, cleaning up trash, and more.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(1)
PS
This collection of nursery rhymes doubles as an offbeat counting book. Through sunny, crisply rendered art, the Dillons have created a sweetly surreal space inhabited by humans, animals, and dancing numerals. Such intriguing details broaden the meaning on every page. A charming and original vision that's also just plain beautiful: this Mother Goose belongs in the permanent canon.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2007
(2)
K-3
The imaginary octet of Miles Davis, Max Roach, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Stanley Clarke, Ella Fitzgerald, and an unnamed guitarist take their places on stage. Music, in the form of patterns resembling African textile art, pours out of the instrumentalists and singer. The authors' note provides a brief biography of each musician. A CD features the text set to music.
Reviewer: Robin L. Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2007
(4)
K-3
The Dillons pay homage to American tap-dancer Bill Robinson and--in their color-blocked, silhouetted illustrations--to Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas. In each double-page spread, Bojangles's feet fairly dance off the page as he passes through a varied urban landscape. The rhyming text isn't quite as light on its feet, and the rhythm seems to trip over the refrain--"Rap a tap tap--think of that!"
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
6 reviews
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