Customer Reviews

The Carousel

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This was and is probably one of the most haunting children's books I have read over the past ten years or so. This work is a perfect blend of mellow, almost poetic prose, almost ghost like illustrations which are brilliantly executed and stunning onto themselves, and a story that is bound to capture the heart of any child or adult with just a wee ounce of imagination in their soul.

Two young girls, sisters, enter a local park on a misty evening in the late winter as they walk home from school. The park is closed. They venture near the now abandoned carousel. It is gloomy and has started to mist. "The horses are asleep," the older sister whispers which brings a whimsical smile to the face on the younger girl as she remembers that her mother use to tell them "that the carousel horses slept all winter and woke in the spring." But alas, their carousal, in this park, was now broken!

So starts a wonderful imaginative adventure. The horses are restless. They fly thorough the air. They kick and gallop snorting through the park. What to do? Well of course you mount two of the wonderful animals and have them carry you to your home to retrieve your mother's old tool box..."she could fix anything." The carousel must be fixed...the horses and other animals must be happy.


The love, confidence, imagination and sweetness the mother has left these two young girls flows from every page. As stated before, the art work in this wonderful book, all in subdued colors...misty, stormy, dark, is something to behold. They capture the mood of the story perfectly.

Now I must admit that I have had an absolute fascination, bordering on passion, for carousels since I was a very little boy and now, as a very old man, never pass up an opportunity to watch and indeed ride one if I have a grandkid handy to act as a prop and to use as an excuse. I doubt seriously if the kids enjoy the ride as much as I do. For me, carousel horses are indeed magical! I suppose this is the reason this book first caught my eye. As with all books I review here though, this one has been kid tested several times and it is a complete hit with the young crowd. They like the story; they like the art and are, for the most part, completely mesmerized when the story is read to them.

There is one aspect of the book which must be noted. To the adult reader it is quite obvious that the mother is no longer with her daughters. The author does not come out and say this; it is more of what is not said than what is said that will clue the adult reader into this. This part of the story line, at times, must be explained to the children listening to it being read. I personally find this part of the unsaid story comforting in that despite her absence, the mother has left these young girls with the love, imagination and spirit that all parents should instill in their child. This is good stuff folks.

I can hardly see how you can go wrong with this one.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

I love this story, and the pictures, too, but what I like most is the sense of lingering influence of a Mother who taught her children with love, and the confidence her memory gives them to handle things on their own. This is skillfully done with only very subtle reference to the fact that the mother is not there, which would be very sad for the audience the book was intended for.

The illustrations of this book are outstanding. It resembles those of Harry Potter. I was most impressed with the story's poetic rhythm. The author makes use of strong analogies that allow young readers to truly put themselves in the young girls places as they manipulate the carousel on a magical adventure. The story leaves readers wondering and interpreting the author's intention for the characters mother. Students in K-5 will enjoy writing other adventures that the carousel horses may encounter or other adventures that the girls may have with their mother's tools. Great book!

What child hasn't dreamed of flying on a real carousel? This is a tender and exciting adventure story about two sisters who do just that. Words and pictures go together perfectly. Our son loves this book and asks to have it read over and over-- best of all, it holds up after many re-readings, the test of a true children's picture book classic. We are big fan's of her children's books, in fact I think we have them all. We also enjoyed Rosenberg's poetry anthologies and her first adult novel Home Repair.

As a dad, I found this delightful story in the library while browsing with two of my daughters when they were ages 4 and 6. They love the illustrations and the storyline, as well as the fact that the story is about two girls with their dad. I love the poetic phrasing which leaves plenty for the adult reader to think about without slowing the action for the child reader. Since then, I have become am avid follower of the author. Along with plenty of other children's stories equally endearing as this one, Liz Rosenberg is a highly acclaimed poet, as well as a novelist. Type her name into Amazon's search engine. You will be glad you did.

Part of my job (in France !)is to read (generally in french !)stories to children and grown-ups."The Carousel" (translated "Les chevaux des nuages" = Clouds'horses...) is one of my favourites. You can't read it without beeing sincerely touched by the words, the wonderful beautiful illustrations and the music : yes, it's really magic, you can hear Clair de Lune by Debussy can't you ? I really do. And it's so right, so touching that I can't help crying while reading it aloud (at the end): it doesn't matter, on the contrary, children know very well that I can really "feel" my stories, that I'm in them, totally, I don't play a game, I'm giving them the best stories, really, and really good stories are good for grown ups too !"The Carousel" is one of them. Do not miss it !