Before Morning - by Joyce Sidman (Hardcover)

About the Book

Just this once, schedules are swept aside as a too busy world suddenly revels in the freedom and peace of the snow. The joy and wonder of a snowy day is brought to new life in this destined-to-be-a-classic picture book from Newbery Honor author, Joyce Sidman, and Caldecott winning artist, Beth Krommes.

Book Synopsis

There are planes to fly and buses to catch, but a child uses the power of words, in the form of an invocation, to persuade fate to bring her family a snow day -- a day slow and unhurried enough to spend at home together.

In a spare text that reads as pure song and illustrations of astonishingly beautiful scratchboard art, Sidman and Krommes remind us that sometimes, if spoken from the heart, wishes really can come true.

Review Quotes

Amazon Best Children's Books of the Year Ages 3 to 5 Booklist Editors' Choice 2016 Horn Book Fanfare Kirkus, Best Picture Book Nerdy Book Club Nerdies 2016 Poetry/Novels in Verse New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice Publishers Weekly, Picture Book List San Francisco Chronicle Best of 2016 School Library Journal Best of 2016 School Library Journal's Fuse#8 Best of 2016 "This is a comforting and deeply satisfying book to read with a child and a celebration of a bit of magic that winter can offer: a gift of time." --The Washington Post "A delightful winter read if there ever was one." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "It's a sweet, but never saccharine, tale of family--and so cozy in every possible way that readers will want to return to it again and again. Pair it with your best hot cocoa recipe. Read. Repeat." --BookPage * "This simply perfect book is a must-have piece of portable poetry and art for all collections." --School Library Journal, STARRED review * "[Before Morning's] parallel but separate threads--the innocent images of the poem, the cheery reassurance of the illustrations, and the tension of the family's wait--give this collaboration significant emotional depth." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED review * "It is rare in picture books to find words and art so perfectly matched, though perhaps not surprising given the talents of Newbery Honor-winning Sidman and Caldecott winner Krommes. Each phrase in Sidman's spare text evokes the heart and the senses while Krommes' scratchboard art is so intricately rendered, so full of story, that each page could be investigated dozens of times." --Booklist, STARRED review * "Like a snow day, a special treat with broad appeal." --Kirkus, STARRED review * "Throughout, Krommes's illustrations do the narrative work, and a series of wordless spreads at book's end provides a sweet balance to the front matter's opening scenes, slowly easing the reader out of this mesmerizing book." --Horn Book, STARRED review --

About the Author

Joyce Sidman received a Newbery Honor for Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night and many honors for her other books. She lives in Wayzata, Minnesota. Visit her website at www.joycesidman.com.

Beth Krommes received the Caldecott Medal for The House in the Night and has illustrated other acclaimed picture books. She lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Visit her website at www.bethkrommes.com.