One Enchanted
Evening by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Karen Hillard
Crouch, is an unlikely, but sweet story. And since, by now, maybe
you know my predilection for rhyming children's stories, if you are
familiar with this one, you might guess that I really enjoyed it.
My children and I
really enjoy the artwork that both attends to and expounds upon the
text of the story perfectly. If I could have Karen Hillard Crouch
illustrate for me, I would. Something about Hillard's watercolor art
is very compelling. I enjoy her use of muted colors, even though
that is not usually my preference for children's book illustrations.
And the varied layout is well done and appealing.
The rhyme and rhythm
are really well done in One Enchanted Evening. So, it is easy
to read out loud again, and again.
All about bugs
getting together for a ball, this story focuses mostly on the queen
spider. And a field mouse knight. The unlikely pair attend the ball
together, just for fun. Apparently, the mouse is sought after
throughout the kingdom. Spider queen says yes and they attend and
dance the night away. At the end of the story, the two get married
and the last two pages end with sweet rhymes about love. The second
to last, has a few overarching and true couplets about love while the
last page directs us:
“So if you're
wishing for true love
what's important, it
seem,
is to accept
all the difference…
and to share
the same dreams.”
While that finale is
truly wonderful and, of course, true, you really are missing out if
you don't know the rest of the story. I highly recommend this book.
It has a sweet tale of a mouse and a spider. Even more wonderfully,
it puts poignant truth into the story in a fitting and easily way to
which most anyone can relate.
Have you read One
Enchanted Evening by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Karen
Hillard Crouch? What did you think about it?
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