Once Upon a Memory

by Nina Laden, Renata Liwska (Illustrator)

Overview

From bestselling author Nina Laden and bestselling illustrator Renata Liwska comes an enchanting, imaginative story for fans of They All Saw a Cat.

Does a feather remember it once was a bird? Does a book remember it once was a word? A boy is swept away to a world where fantasy and reality come together in surprising and playful ways. From the cake that once was grain to the ocean that once was rain, whimsical before and after scenes offer readers a peek at the world as seen through the eyes of a curious child.

Nina Laden's poetic and cleverly woven text is perfectly paired with artist Renata Liwska's captivating illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316400961
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/03/2013
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nina Laden is an award-winning, bestselling children's book author and illustrator. She grew up in the New York City area, the daughter of two artists, and received a BFA from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts. She has over a dozen books in print including Peek-A Who?, The Night I Followed the Dog, When Pigasso Met Mootisse, and Roberto: The Insect Architect.

Renata Liwska has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Her old schoolbooks overflowed with sketches, and the children's book illustrations she creates today are influenced by memories from her childhood. She is the illustrator of the New York Times bestsellers The Quiet Book and The Loud Book!, and she is the author and illustrator of Little Panda and The Red Wagon. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Renata now lives in Calgary.

Editorial Reviews

10/14/2013
In a quiet poem, Laden (Romeow and Drooliet) guides thinking about the way a cake might “remember” being a field of grain or an ocean might recall its source in raindrops. Her philosophical verse names objects and their origins: “Does a chair remember it once was... a tree?/ Does a garden remember it once was... a pea?” Readers who grasp the link between a statue and a stone may be perplexed by a line about romance: “Does love remember it once was... new?” Liwska (The Quiet Book) pictures two childless birds courting; the next scene, of ducks building a nest (“Does a family remember it once was... two?”), will make more sense, at least for children in mom-and-dad homes. The artist’s typically delicate pencil sketches alternate between images of an inquisitive child and imagined scenes of animals at work and at play, underscoring the book’s meditative, contemplative quality. Laden’s closing question—“Will you remember you once were... a child?”—makes the exercise all the more personal, inviting readers to consider who they might become. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

A Bank Street College Children's Book Committee Best Book

* "Tender and genuine. These musings on memory and change are thought-provoking, yet the piece also works as a lullaby. Reflective and peaceful."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[A] gentle, dreamy picture book...a lyrical series of questions that play with the concept of memory and origins."—School Library Journal

"Contemplative and poignant."—Booklist

From the Publisher

10/01/2013
K-Gr 2—In this gentle, dreamy picture book, a little boy explores the world around him-past, present, and future-through everyday objects. The text is a lyrical series of questions that play with the concept of memory and origins: "Does a feather remember it once was… a bird?/Does a book remember it once was… a word?" Laden's somewhat esoteric prose is grounded by Liwska's pencil and mixed-media drawings that depict cherubic, round-faced woodland creatures getting haircuts, shopping at independent bookstores, and playing at the beach. Each question sparks an idea, while the illustrations extend the musings into multiple vingettelike stories. A child could breeze quickly through to the end or spend an hour contemplating each spread. Some of the questions may prove too lofty for some young children, though, even with visual prompts. For example, "Does love remember it once was… new?" is accompanied by two images in juxtaposition: an old woman sitting on a park bench with the narrator and a songbird serenading his lady love. A sweet book, if limited in appeal.—Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2013-10-01
A rhythmic poem explores origins, both physical and abstract. A boy sits in his room, serving tea to his stuffed animals, when a feather wafts in on the breeze. It prompts a string of wonderings, each with its own spread and paired by rhyme. "Does a feather remember it once was… / …a bird? // Does a book remember it once was… / …a word?" Every left-hand page shows a small scene of the boy with the named item (the feather; a book). The corresponding right-hand page shows a larger scene that's related to the small one (an owl at the barber's, feathers falling; animals patronizing a bookstore); these are softly round-edged. Many animals in the larger scenes are the child's toys come to life. Laden's impeccable cadence wanders into nature ("Does a cake remember it once was… / …grain? // Does an ocean remember it once was… / …rain?") and some gentle, child-friendly philosophy ("Does an island remember it once was… / …unknown?"). One origin's too narrow--not all families "once [were] two," nor are all parental sets heterosexual, like the male and female mallard depicted. Liwska fans will recognize her carefully detailed sketches and their fine, soft crosshatchings and shadings. Colors are grays and browns with muted red, green and blue highlights; animal characters are tender and genuine. These musings on memory and change are thought-provoking, yet the piece also works as a lullaby. Reflective and peaceful. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews