September 1, 2023
In this entry in a series that illustrates existing poems, Feeney takes on Sandburg's 1916 poem, written from the point of view of a pumpkin. On double-page spreads with striking backgrounds, children gather pumpkins and celebrate Halloween. Cheerful hues dominate at first ("I light the prairie cornfields") and give way to Halloween night-appropriate shades of black ("Children join hands...Singing ghost songs / And love to the harvest moon"), but orange and the titular yellow are always present and help emphasize the holiday's festive atmosphere. The poem's full text and discussion of it, plus background on Sandburg, are appended. Shoshana Flax
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2024
In this entry in a series that illustrates existing poems, Feeney takes on Sandburg's 1916 poem, written from the point of view of a pumpkin. On double-page spreads with striking backgrounds, children gather pumpkins and celebrate Halloween. Cheerful hues dominate at first ("I light the prairie cornfields") and give way to Halloween night-appropriate shades of black ("Children join hands...Singing ghost songs / And love to the harvest moon"), but orange and the titular yellow are always present and help emphasize the holiday's festive atmosphere. The poem's full text and discussion of it, plus background on Sandburg, are appended.
(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)