11.30.2012

BOOK REVIEW: ON THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN


I LOVE CHILDRENS BOOKS! I love the way they are written, i love the illustration, i love how they capture a story in such few pages and can teach something amazing in those pages as well. I know not all childrens books are good, but there is just something to be said about one that is. The little one got this book from Grammie and Gramps and I thought it would be a great first book to review. It is called "On the Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tillman.

On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you
and the night wind whispered,
“Life will never be the same”
Because there had never been anyone like you…
ever in the world.

This is how the story begins and goes on to tell of the celebratory acts of various animals, the moon, the wind, how they all were a part of a very monumental event that will never occur again. This event is the night we were born. The illustrations in the book are beautiful the words are enchanting and powerful. 

One of the things that comes to mind often when i think of birth is something that my sister in law posted about her daughters birth. She was talking about how meaning is attached to different things. you can read the whole things here.  She said "Anyways...I was thinking about the validity of events devoid of social meaning when it struck me: would the event of Harper's birth be any less important/cataclysmic/life-altering/beautiful/miraculous if society (media) hadn't ascribed it meaning? That's when I realized that, if nothing else, birth is an event that in and of itself holds inherent meaning which is pertinent regardless of culture, religion or ideology. The meaning of birth never has to be explained, studied, speculated, broadcast or debated. It just is what it is."

I love that! Thanks Steph for letting me share! But there really is this unspoken and spoken meaning, that first breath, the sound of that first cry, that life, that moment, It can not be explained adequately, but Nancy Tillman did a great job in this book of capturing the joy and excitement and importance of the very individual.Thank you Kilean Todd for capturing some of these moments and meaning for us.





  These next ones are of Harper and Steph, as you can see, the feeling is the same, Joy, fear, pride, and peace. 

For never before in story or rhyme
(not even once upon a time)
has the world ever known a you, my friend,
and it never will, not ever again…
Heaven blew every trumpet
and played every horn
on the wonderful, marvelous
night you were born.







  
“Life will never be the same”
Because there had never been anyone like you…
ever in the world.

1 comment:

  1. I liked your review Anna.Having that experience 5 times did not lessen the unspeakable awe for me one bit.

    I would like to add the thought that when we lose someone, the world alters irrevocably again.It will never be quite the same.Both events are the biggest moments.It is wonderful for authors and ourselves to honor them.
    You are doing a great thing with this blog. I enjoy reading it.

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