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Snow de la Mare and Rabei

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BfK No. 209 - November 2014
BfK 209 November 2014

COVER STORY
This issue’s cover illustration is from Animalium (Welcome to the Museum) by Jenny Broom with illustrations by Katie Scott. Thanks to Big Picture Press for their help with this Christmas cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 209 November 2014 .

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Snow de la Mare and Rabei

Walter de la Mare
 Carolina Rabei
(Faber & Faber)
32pp, 978-0571305575, RRP £6.99, Paperback
Under 5s Pre-School/Nursery/Infant
Buy "Snow" on Amazon

Taking de la Mare's poem Snow, Carolina Rabei has imagined a white Christmas setting, in which the snow falls and the world becomes a glittering wonderland where children can build snowmen and sledge. Stockings are hung in front of a blazing fire and Santa's sleigh can land on the roof. This is an idyll – part of the mythology of winter. However, it is saved from unbearable romanticism by Rabei's illustrations with their blocky lino-cut effects introducing a solidity and humour to the scenes. Her sparing palette also helps, subtly suggesting the cold of a winter day in which the dark comes quickly, an effect emphasised by the use of red – the only colour. In this she matches the perfect minimalism of the poet's words, complementing and extending them. The scenes may be cosy, but the loneliness of a freezing winter night is not far away.

Though this will inevitably be placed on the picture books shelves – and why not? – it should also find its way into the hands of older children. It could provide a door to poets and poetry.

Reviewer: 
Ferelith Hordon
5
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