Apples and Butterflies
A Poem for Prince Edward Island
- Publisher
- Nimbus Publishing
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2012
- Category
- General
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771083607
- Publish Date
- Oct 2015
- List Price
- $12.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781771085038
- Publish Date
- Feb 2017
- List Price
- $8.99
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781551099354
- Publish Date
- Oct 2012
- List Price
- $19.95
Add it to your shelf
Where to buy it
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 4 to 8
- Grade: p to 3
Description
I want to rest inside a sunrise dream
an endless stretch of sea and sand and foam
I want to go
go where butterflies dance like children
Apples and Butterflies is a gentle, lyrical poem about a family's autumn vacation and shows Prince Edward Island in a light we don't often see—the bright blue and orange light of fall. Tamara Thiébaux-Heikalo's rich and wild illustrations build a narrative with the text, showing us the family beachcombing, flying kites, and picking apples. Shauntay Grant's award-winning poetry makes the reader long to go with her, and conveys the wide-open space of the island, where you can
breathe air that tastes like apples:
red
ripe
and ready for picking.
About the authors
Shauntay Grant is a Canadian playwright, poet, performance artist, and children's author. She is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University, and former poet laureate for the City of Halifax. Her work examines African Nova Scotian and African diasporic history and folk culture, as well as contemporary approaches to literature and performance. Grant’s other honours include a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, a Robert Merritt Award from Theatre Nova Scotia, a Best Atlantic Published Book Prize from the Atlantic Book Awards, a Poet of Honour prize from the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre for Africville (Groundwood Books).
Tamara Thiébaux-Heikalo has drawn and painted all her life, and is the illustrator of six previous books for children, including Driftwood Dragons and The Cat From Kosovo. She and her artist husband, Daniel Heikalo, live in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia.
Excerpt: Apples and Butterflies: A Poem for Prince Edward Island (by (author) Shauntay Grant; illustrated by Tamara Thiebaux-Heikalo)
I want to rest inside a sunrise dream an endless stretch of sea and sand and foam I want to go go where butterflies dance like children
Editorial Reviews
A young girl narrator describes a family getaway to Prince Edward Island in this charmingly illustrated picture book with poetic touches. Following a refrain of “I want to,” she relates scenarios such as “I want to rest inside a sunrise dream / an endless stretch of sea and sand and foam.” Here, we see her joyfully greeting a swirly pastel sky. The lyrical text, with only a few lines per page, is simply constructed, though it’s occasionally esoteric for kids—for instance, “I just want to breathe / breathe air that tastes like apples: / red / ripe.” Nonetheless, the intricate, vibrant artwork incorporates playful and evocative elements, and the warm portrayal of a family appreciating nature’s wonders and sharing in familiar activities like walking the beach or picking apples may inspire readers to dream or reminisce about their own vacations with, as the girl says, “no alarm clocks / and no chores . . . only time / lots and lots of time.”
