Over in the Meadow (Voyager Book) [Paperback]

John Langstaff (Author), Feodor Rojankovsky (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Voyager Book

The old animal counting song. “Numbers for knee highs couldn’t be more fun. . . . Also has music for the song at the end. . . . Feodor Rojankovsky’s charming illustrations are in full color and black and white.”--Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Langstaff (December 24, 1920 - December 13, 2005), a concert baritone, and early music revivalist was the founder of the Northeast United States tradition of the Christmas Revels, as well as a respected musician and educator. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music as well as Juilliard. In 1943 he married Diane Hamilton. He was later married to Nancy Woodbridge, a pianist.

Throughout his adult life, Langstaff was a dedicated music educator. In 1955, he became the music director at The Potomac School, in Washington, DC, and later taught at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He wrote twenty-five books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Frog Went A-Courtin'. He hosted the BBC-TV children's program "Making Music" for five years, and produced a series of videos called "Making Music with John Langstaff" for parents and teachers. He also published songbooks, teacher's guides, and production guides for the Revels.

Langstaff's recording career was varied and long. Beginning with English traditional music in the 1950s, he continued with the founding of Revels Records, recording primarily children's and traditional music.

Born in Mitava, Russia, Rojankovsky was educated at the Moscow Fine Arts Academy and served in the Russian Army during WWI. Soon afterward, he moved to France and studied under Esther Averill. In 1941, he moved to the US and began a career of illustrating more than a hundred books, most having to do with animals and/or nature. Rojankovsky also wrote books, an example being The Great Big Animal Book, published in 1952. He was awarded the 1956 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in the book Frog Went A-Courtin'.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (April 18, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156705001
• ISBN-13: 978-0156705004
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the kids books I haven't got too bored with yet., August 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Over in the Meadow (Voyager Book) (Paperback)

You know how you can quote every page of "Spot's First Walk" ... three years later. This ones like that. The difference is that its such a nice book you don't start to dread bed times. I can quote this one now (I should be working, never mind) "Over in the meadow in the sand and the sun, lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle, one. Dig said the Mother, I dig said the one. So he dug all day in .." Oh all right, I'll stop. If you think you really know it, whats different about the Owl's page ? Buy it, I love it

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both the kids and I loved it!, July 8, 2003

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Over in the Meadow (Voyager Book) (Paperback)

Rhyming text that repeats and is predictable introduces families of animals. It starts with one animal and builds to a family of 10 animals. Animals that live in a meadow are presented which includes: turtle, red fox, robin, chipmunk, honeybee, beaver, frog/pollywogs, owl, spiders and rabbits.

At the end the musical score for singing this as a song and all the lyrics are printed.

The illustrations are lovely and unique. Some are full colored and others are pencil-gray with a yellowish color.

My children loved the singsong rhyming with the obvious cadence. The last illustration is of a scary predator-owl swooping down upon many of the animals, which are trying to run away! But that is all part of the life of the animals in the meadow!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the meadow, in the glen, April 10, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over in the Meadow (Voyager Book) (Paperback)

From the writer and illustrator of the absolutely fantastic "Frog Went A Courtin'" (read that book for a great rollicking time!) comes the somewhat less impressive, "Over In the Meadow". Like "Frog", this is a picture book based on a classic folk song. It is simultaneously a counting tale as a well as one of the first cutsie baby animal books published in the United States (origianally published in 1957). A lovely look at the creatures in the fields, though not particularly memorable.

In this tale we get an opening shot of a myriad of creatures sitting, standing, or perching in the light of the meadow. As the song progresses a turtle asks her single offspring to dig, and he does so. Then a fox tells her two cubs to run, and they follow her suggestion. This continues, with each animal accruing more and more offspring, instructing them in different ways. The robins sing, the chipmunks play, the bees hum, etc. Finally, after the ten rabbits hop, we get this double page spread that is downright out of place. Suddenly it is night and an owl and a fox are out looking for prey as bunnies and gophers run for their lives. It is a beautiful and deeply evocative scene that has virtually nothing to do with the rest of the book. Then the book is over, with the exception of some helpful music sheets and chords for playing the song's tune.

John Langstaff hasn't done much to put his name on the tale, aside from breaking up the verses. It is really Feodor Rojankovsky's impressive illustrations that place this book apart from others. Alternating between the colorful and the subtly shaded, Rojankovsky adeptly portrays every animal from bird to bee. It's a nice effort and a nice book. Just the same, if you'd really like to see Langstaff and Rojankovsky at their best, I highly recommend the Caldecott winning, "Frog Went A Courtin'" for all your picture book needs.