Wednesday, November 6, 2019

November is Picture Book Month! Review: Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo & Diane Dillon

Image: Scholastic Inc. 

Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo & Diane Dillon. Unpgd. The Blue Sky Press/ Scholastic Inc., October 2019. 9781338332650. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Our family has a rocking chair that has spanned generations. Does yours? This book is a favorite for all sorts of reasons both sentimental and objective. According to the jacket information, Love and the Rocking Chair is the Dillons' final collaboration. And a fitting one it is. 


It's a lovely story, sparely told, about a young, interracial couple who are expecting their first child and shopping for the perfect chair. They find it, have the baby and the chair is perfect - for rocking, for reading, for playing and finally for holding cast-off belongings. Then it is packed away and forgotten about until...

The muted palette and the Dillons' signature style draw the eye and invite lingering over each scene. Pull a young one into your lap and share this book! Highly recommended! It's the perfect gift for new parents. 


ETA November 9, 2019: I had the book on the kitchen counter to send with my husband when he visited my son, d-i-l and grand-daughter today. As he often does with my book droppings all over the house, he paused to read the book. I busied myself at the kitchen table and didn't look up when he said, "Nice book." A beat later, I turned to see him wiping his eyes with a tissue. I asked, "What's wrong with your eye?" He responded, "I'm crying! That book was beautiful!" We've been together for 35 years and I think I can count how many times he has openly wept on one hand.


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