Free Fall (Paperback)

by David Wiesner (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A boy falls asleep and experiences several wordless, surreal journeys. PW said, "This unbroken dreamscape is artfully carried through a blending of ancient and modern motifs; the book is an exceptional choice for children and visually enticing for older readers." Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5 In an odd wordless picture book about a dream, a fair-haired boy falls asleep while reading an ominous looking atlas. As he floats through sky and slumber, the boy's green checked bedspread is transformed into an aerial view of the earth. He then descends upon an enormous chess board complete with mortal playing pieces. This medieval welcoming party leads the youngster to their mazed castle where he continues his search (although this is not always clear) for an elusive map. The nameless protagonist's ensuing adventures are confusing, complicated, and illogical. Transformations abound in this surrealistic universe. Floating leaves change into swans, fortress walls become dragons, building fronts turn into mountains. The influence of such literary classics as Gulliver's Travels, The Wizard of Oz, and The Water-Babies, along with the artistry of Raphael, Escher, and Sendak, is apparent. Soft shades of green, blue, and yellow dominate the action. Technical virtuosity is the trademark of the double-page watercolor spreads. Especially notable is the solidity of forms and architectural details. While many of the illustrations are stunning, if somewhat slick, they work better as individual pieces than as a whole. This book lacks the sequence and logic required by young children, and it will have limited appeal among older children. Julie Corsaro, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 18, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068810990X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688109905
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #331,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Picture Book Review, April 25, 2001

By	Amber Branton "abranto" (Clemson, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Fall (Library Binding)

Free Fall By: David Wiesner David Wiesner sends the reader on a magical journey through a young boy's dream to a far off land in his creative picture book titled, Free Fall. He does this by using only detailed pictures. Free Fall is an Caldecott honor award winning book for its excellent use of the imagination. Free Fall begins with a young boy fast asleep with a storybook lying open on his chest. The boy begins to dream while the pages of the book start to fly and take life. He becomes a character in the book as the chess pieces begin to talk with him. He then goes through many exciting adventures during the course of the book. He protects the town from a frightening dragon, becomes an oversized boy towering above all, and even becomes so small that he can fly on a single leaf. He flies right next to the swans just above the waters, and then he...wakes to the daylight shining through his window. He sits up, looks at his fish bowl beside his bed, and admires the seagulls at his windowpane with a smile on his face. David Wiesner uses fantasy and adventure to give a child an unlimited imagination in his book, Free Fall. The title page automatically sets the reader up for a fulfilled magical ride. The title page looks like a map made out of the boy's bed sheet to give the reader a sense of where the story will take us. The first page of the book lets the reader know that the boy fell asleep while reading a book. Then the reader turns the page, and night suddenly turns into day from one page to the next. The boy's room starts to disappear into rolling open fields with mountains towering in the background through clouds. The boy becomes as small as a chess piece, and starts to have conversations with the other pieces. On the next page, the chess pieces turn into a beautiful life-size castle, and the people have shrunk to a smaller size. Then, a dragon appears, and the boy is left to protect the people using only a sword and shield. As the reader turns the page, the pages of the young boy's storybook begin to turn also, while characters in his book suddenly jump into his dream. The reader can see the people coming out of the pages. The boy then grows vast, soaring over all. He takes adventures though the mountains, as well as takes flight though the air. He flies along with the swans until the waters subtly turns back into his bed sheets. A foggy haze once again appears, and the boy is awakened by the light of the morning. Wiesner takes the reader, the child, on an adventure though another child's dream. The colors of the pictures are subtle and dull, so that it reflects that of a hazy dream-like state. The picture book is put together very well as the pages slowly drift into the next scene of the boy's thoughts. For example, the boy's bed sheets blend into rolling hills, the hills fade into a chessboard, and the pieces convert into the towers of a castle. The pages of the book turn gradually into steps, and then transform into sides of buildings. The mountains then turn into bread as the boy's bed sheet reappears as a tablecloth. The tablecloth suddenly transforms into rough waters, as the food breaks into pieces forming into fish. As daylight breaks through, the waters turn into the boy's bed sheets once again. The transformation of the bed sheet into so many different items may relate to what a child can imagine a bed sheet to become. The uses of objects, such as the boy's bed sheet, for more then one purpose is a great way to express an exploring, creative mind, such as the young boy's in the book Wiesner's Free Fall, creates an adventure for the child through the great usage of imagination. This allows the child to not only enjoy the book, but also relate to the book. The child learns that bedtime, an often unpopular time, can open up a world of excitement for them.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Illustrated Imaginative Dream, February 17, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Fall (Library Binding)

"Free Fall" by David Wiesner is a wordless book about imagination. It begins with a boy who is escorted through a very imaginative dream. Throughout the book, the illustrations change subtly to form new scenarios as the dream continues. Eventually, the boy wakes up only to realize that a map and his own toys are the items that initiated his dream. "Free Fall" is a wonderfully illustrated book. It contains very clear illustrations with quite a bit of detail. Because the theme focuses on imagination, many of the illustrations are out of the ordinary and are abstract. However, the same concept is persistent throughout the book providing continuity for the reader. "Free Fall" will provide children of different ages the opportunity to explore their own imagination. It will also give children the opportunity to develop their vocabulary as they describe what each page means to them. However, some younger children might not be able to understand the complete meaning contained within the book. Furthermore, they might not have the vocabulary to describe all that they see. In spite of this, most children will truly enjoy this book. I do recommend it highly to any home or classroom.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy dreamland illustrations captivate young children., June 10, 1996

By A Customer

This Caldecott Honor winner captivates young children with its entrancing illustrations of a boy's journey through a fantasy dreamland. Since there is no text, children (and adults) are free to make up the story to fit the illustrations in any way they see fit. Another wonderful wordless book by Wiesner is Tuesday