Now that our daughter is six and fully-immersed in the world of chapter books that we read to her each night, I am beginning to miss reading her picture books, while cherishing the time I still have left with my son to enjoy picture books. My taste in picture book definitely tends towards the vintage and obscure, but occasionally we come across a new one that I really love. I found Singing Away the Dark at Green Apple Books in San Francisco last spring, and became enamored with Julie Morstad's depiction of the six-year old main character. I looked up Ms. Morstad and she became one of our favorite illustrators.
This book is the story of a girl who has to walk quite a ways to the school bus stop each day (through the snow) and she must leave before the sun rises. She sings to herself to keep away the shadows, meeting all kinds of little animals on the way. As we approach Winter here in Michigan, I expect we'll read this one quite a bit. I recommend it; as you can see the following pictures (all from the promotional materials online), it really is a stunning book.
