Genre or Category
Poetry
Target Age Group
PreK – 3rd Grade
Summary
This picture book tells the story of a journey into the forest before bed told through a cento poem. The melody of the forest and its many creatures are told through dreamy illustrations and lyrical verses.
Justification
I came across this book in my search for a children’s poetry book. The title and illustrations caught my attention and my curiosity had me flipping through the book. That alone was reason enough for me to read this book. I’ve learned that the books I can’t resist reading end up being my favorites. But as I read the last pages in the book which explain what a cento poem is, I noticed that the author listed all the poems and poets that were used in this book and I read the name of my all-time favorite poet—Robert Frost. That was it. I had to read this book!
Evaluation
For this review, I will be evaluating poetic devices, emotion, and illustrations.
I’m not as familiar with cento poems as other types of poetry so this poetic device was fairly new for me, but I read this book so many times and continued to find more to love. A cento poem is a poem that uses lines from other poems and strings them together to make one single cohesive poem. Typically, the author will use poems that are meaningful to them to tell their new story. I had fun reading the story and identifying which lines came from other famous poems. I’m amazed how she took all those pieces and turned them into something new and beautiful. Children this age will love the rhyming and lyrical verses even if they might not be able to understand how meaningful the lines from Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson are, but it has potential to open the door to a world of poets.
I believe the best poems are the ones that make you feel something. Some of our most beloved writings of love and heartbreak are told through poetry. Like a song, poetry has a way to show emotion and move us with a few lines. This book tells the story of the song of the forest through a walk in the woods. It begins with the main character not knowing the way to go but following his heart and listening to the sounds, like dreams playing, and seeing the sights, like shadows dancing. This story shows how everything in the forest and nature sings together in perfect harmony and continues to every day, with each new season. This was an emotional story for me. It made me feel comforted and hopeful about the future. I love the message of—follow your heart and your own path and everything will be okay.
The illustrations helped enhance the emotion shown in this book. They did a beautiful job of matching the whimsical and hopeful tone of this poem. The painting style used in the illustrations looks a little abstract but very dreamy with swirling colors of autumn trees and sunset skies. Children will love these vivid illustrations that seem to move on each page—tree branches blowing in the wind, shadows dancing in the night, stars twinkling—and show the forest in all its wonder.
References
Hall, K. (2025). A Forest Song (E. Turk, illus.). Random House Studio.