Over the River and Through the Wood

by Lydia Maria Child, Christopher Manson (Illustrator)

Overview

Lydia Maria Child's beloved poem turned classic song embodies the magic of bundling up and riding a horse-drawn sleigh to visit Grandmother for Thanksgiving.

Set in the nineteenth century, this story features Christopher Manson's indelible wood carvings, which capture the wonders of winter—such as sledding and ice-skating—and the Thanksgiving feast, complete with pumpkin pie. Music and lyrics at the back of the book let you sing along.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735843936
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	26
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.07(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Christopher Manson was born in Buffalo, New York. He earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and a master's degree in fine arts from the State University College at New Paltz, New York. He worked for the Arts Council of Buffalo and Erie County, as well as an off-Broadway theater company in New York City, and he taught at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. He has been working with letterpress printing for about twenty years, combining his interest in literature with his illustrations using woodcuts and linoleum cuts. He has also taught letterpress workshops in his extensive home studio with two printing presses and a great deal of metal type. While most of the world is involved with computers, he has been resolutely marching into the past. He plans to continue with his work for as long as possible.

Editorial Reviews

Like a Mad magazine satire in both illustration style and intent, this urban take on Child's pastoral ditty pokes fun at tradition. Catrow's (She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!) trip to Grandfather's house involves a van with uptight parents, crying kids and a baby who escapes into the lavish Macy's parade. The baby's mishaps are amusing, but, like all satire, the joke depends on the audience's familiarity with the original work. Young children will fare better with Nadine Bernard Westcott's softer interpretation or Christopher Manson's reverent version (both 1993); this one is for grade-school sophisticates. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 4-Recalling a simpler time, this book captures the poem's sense of excitement and celebration. Readers who join the family en route to Grandfather's house will observe many details about life in the 19th century. As the sleigh traverses river and woods, parents and son greet fellow New England villagers who, bundled against the cold, are at work and at play. The toe-stinging, nose-biting chill of the trip is finally broken when they arrive at the grandparents' warm house and seat themselves at the overflowing table. For those who tend to hum the words after the first two lines, all six verses, as well as the score, are printed on the endpapers. A brief note describes the poem's origin. Manson's woodcuts, painted in the colors of a snowy evening, lovingly depict the wintry countryside. In contrast, the indoor scenes are diffused with the warm shades of the season. The mood of this edition far outshines recent efforts (Normand Chartier's version [S&S, 1990] features a greeting-card family of anthropomorphized bunnies). Like the poem itself, this title promises to have wide and ageless appeal.-Lisa S. Murphy, Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA

School Library Journal

Westcott's artistic vision of Child's familiar song couldn't be more different from another recent version illustrated by Christopher Manson with color woodcuts of a nineteenth-century Thanksgiving. Westcott presents a thoroughly modern holiday, with readers following a family heading in its car out of New York City to Grandfather and Grandmother's home in the country. As the family makes its way through the snow, textless pages show the grandparents bustling about with the usual big-dinner preparations--basting the turkey, setting the table, making the pie. The bright watercolor drawings outlined in pen are energetic and enjoyable and culminate in a joyous reunion. A bouncy cup of holiday cheer. Music and three verses appended.

Ilene Cooper

"Manson’s vibrant, textured illustrations capture the verve and enthusiasm of Child’s well-known holiday poem, feeling as old-fashioned as the original 1844 verse and yet timelessly festive..."-Horn Book Magazine, Cynthia K. Ritter

From the Publisher