Doors in the Air

May 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 2-Though it begins as a detailed description of an ordinary house, "There's an attic for trunks... /There are bedrooms and halls/Ceilings and floors...," this story-in-verse quickly transforms into a paean to the metaphorical doors of one's imagination. The narrator, an unnamed boy, leaves his mundane bedroom (through a door, of course) and journeys into a series of imaginary landscapes, praising the doors' amazing ability to transport him to surprising places all the while. A bit of nonsense verse is thrown in for good measure: "Oh sesame, sesame/Wrinkles and recipes/Tickedy, tackedy, tock!" Painted in a cartoon, stylized manner, Pratt's bright acrylic spreads delight with vivid greens, reds, and blues. The content of the illustrations, however, does not quite match the colors in exuberance. Unlike, say, the wild imaginings of Dr. Seuss, the depiction of the fantasyland here is spare and somewhat understated. A few flying fish, a tiny elephant, and an odd-looking flamingo-esque bird are some of the more whimsical details. Mildly charming but not essential.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2012
A small boy muses on the power of imagination to carry you away from ordinary life. After enumerating usual features of his home--roof, walls, beds, tables, brooms, books and hooks--the narrator reveals his fascination with doors. "Doors open wide / To let me pass through / Like rain down a spout / Or smoke up a flue." Pratt's quirky acrylic paintings (new illustrations for a text first published in 2008) show a sharply angular house and a variety of commonplace objects. They also introduce the imaginary creatures that accompany the narrator on his journey: a small stuffed elephant, a red, white and blue bird, a goldfish and a fanciful, ostrich-like creature. A wordless double-page spread halfway through the tale shows them escaping into the world of imagination. Rhyming, rhythmic quatrains become three-line stanzas: "You are, you see, / The silver key / To open up the lock." The dreamscape includes a jungle with oversize plants, a rounded castle, a passage with keyhole-shaped windows, a page of colorful doors and a flying carpet, which brings the boy home. A magical incantation is repeated: "Oh sesame, sesame / East of me, west of me / Sesame, sesame, snap!" Surreal in its effect, this celebration of the creative mind encourages young readers and listeners to open doors of their own. (Picture book. 4-8)

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July 1, 2012
In his mind, a boy dreams of doors to fantastic places. Bright acrylic paintings depict the wide-eyed boy as he leaps from one imagined scene to the next; his unchanging expression is a little unnerving. The obvious message--presented in verse with at least two different meters--can't be missed; the didactic tone won't be either.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 15, 2012
Preschool-G There are plenty of fine things in his home, but a young boy likes the doors in his house the best. They offer many thingsentrance, escape, freedombut there's one special door that opens directly into his imagination, an ever-changing fantasy land of lush jungles, surreal dreamscapes, and vibrant flowers. Weale's rhyming text is swift and skillful ( The dream doors you open / So tall and so wide / Are the doors to the castle / You have waiting inside ), and it explains how the boy can enter and transform his boundless interior world as easily as opening a door. Featuring a palette of rich reds, blues, and greens, many of Pratt's bright, double-page illustrations change scenarios with a flip of the page, which may be exciting for some readers and puzzling for others. Still, the intrepid boy striding through one doorway after the next, with a friendly looking, long-necked bird in tow, just might inspire readers to start exploring their own worlds of fantasy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)