When the Sky is Like Lace [Hardcover]

Elinor Lander Horwitz (Author), Barbara Cooney (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

What happens when it's bimulous and the sky is like lace? Strange and splendid things! Otters sing, trees dance, and the grass is like gooseberry jam. There's a special party that anyone can attend. Anyone, that is, who knows the rules and isn't afraid of plum-purple shadows, can cook spaghetti and would like to teach a new song to the otters.

Back by popular demand, this whimsical picture book illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winner Barbara Cooney's lush watercolors is as resonant today as when it was first published almost thirty years ago.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elinor Lander Horwitz is the author of a number of books for young and adult readers including How To Wreck a Building, Sometimes It Happens and Contemporary American Folk Artists.

Barbara Cooney (1917-2000) is the author and illustrator of many books for young readers including Miss Rumphius, Eleanor, Island Boy, and Hattie and the Wild Waves. She is one of the few illustrators to have received the Caldecott Award twice, for Chanticleer and the Fox in 1959 and for Ox-Cart Man in 1980.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059099
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059096
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Extraordinary Book, January 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: When the sky is like lace (Hardcover)

My children grew up loving this book and I love sharing it with them. Many evenings were spent reading the imaginative text ("the fern deep grove at the midnight end of the garden" and grass that "feels like the velvet inside a very old violin case")and savoring the exquisite illustrations. Both words and pictures never failed to transport us to a mystical, magical place. The interactive style of writing draws the readers into the story making them integral characters. Every child should have the opportunity to dream and have the fun of choosing (among other things) juggling peaches, pretending to be a helicopter and jumping up and down in the mud. Although my children are now grown, the three of us can still quote lines (actually, we can practically recite the book verbatim). None of us can hear the "Mexican Hat Dance" without thinking of the otter's song. We tresure our copy and look forward to reading it to the next generation and introducing them to the "strange splendid" things that happen when the sky is like lace. Just for insurance (in case anything should happen to our well worn and well loved copy), I purchased a used copy for an outrageous price, but it is worth every penny. How I wish this book would come back into print. I would buy copies for every child I know. Gracious, I have developed a craving for spaghetti with pineapple sauce!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best childrens' book of all time!!!, July 2, 2005

By 

M. Schijvens - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Sky is Like Lace (Hardcover)

So I was ABOUT to pay $132 for an out of print version of this book when I saw it had been reprinted!!! I feel like its Christmas. This was my FAVORITE book as a child. I have an old color photocopy that I have read every day to my 13 months old since he was 6 months old. Its SO battered and falling apart - but he still picks it to have me read to him every time. He LOVES it. If you want for you and your little one to be transported to where everything is strange splendid and plum perfect - GET this book. It is pure magic. I am going to buy copies for everyone I know with kids!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Reprint This Book!, April 26, 2002

By 

Jane (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Sky Is Like Lace (Library Binding)

I first heard of this book while taking a Children's Lit course in college. When our professor read it aloud to us as an example of one of the finest pieces of children's literature she knew, I was stunned that it was out of print. I checked it out of the college library over and over and never tired of its flowing, musical, beautiful text and its equally inspiring pictures. I am crushed that I can't find an affordable copy to buy. Why is this amazing book out of print? I want to pass copies out to every child (and most adults) I know. I want to read it to my own children someday.