Reviews: (by author)

(2 Reviews)

Locker, Thomas. Water Dance. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997. $16. ISBN 0-15-201284-2.

Lush oil paintings of water in various natural forms are found on the book's right hand page, and delicate wisps of poems are on the left, centered in white space juxtaposing the dynamism of the paintings on the other side. The poems are spoken in the first-person voice of water, in its manifold cyclical forms-the dance is the progression from mountain stream to lake, river, ocean, thunderheads, storm, rainbow, and over again. As science as well as art and poetry, the book is outstanding.

Locker has partnered with the outstanding story teller Joseph Bruchac on two noteworthy Native-American books for children.

A.A. Sp '03

 

Locker, Thomas. Cloud Dance. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc, 2000. $16.00. ISBN 0-15-202231-7

Author and illustrator Thomas Locker has created a brilliant book in Cloud Dance, reminiscent of his previous books Water Dance and Mountain Dance. Through his words and illustrations, he recognizes the beauty of one of the simplest aspects of nature--clouds. The clouds "drift and dance" across beautiful words and flowing paintings. Clouds' shapes and colors change with the seasons and weather, as do the oil-painted illustrations which capture the activities of a woman and child during the year. In addition to beautiful text and realistic pictures, the back of the book gives information about clouds including their formation and their different types. This is a beautiful book to share with any child.

Marissa Friedman, October 2003

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