10/01/2018
Graham (Home in the Rain) takes as his subject a gold poesy ring, “given for friendship and love,” with the words “Love never dies” inscribed on its inner face. The opening endpaper bears an image of a woman on a rearing horse and the tantalizing words “County Kerry... 1830./ Bitter tears were shed,/ and a ring was thrown.” Lovely, sweeping views take in all that happens to the golden ring after it lands in a seaside meadow. A nearby acorn becomes an oak; the ring gets wedged in a fawn’s hoof, nabbed by a starling, then swallowed by a fish. A fisherman recovers it and sells it at a New York City pawn shop, where, in 1967, a street musician buys it and slides it onto his partner’s finger before the two walk the city in the snow. Graham focuses on the passing of time and the slow action of the natural world; in contrast to the sweet, pudgy human figures, softly tinted landscapes are airy and graceful. And the ring’s survival through space and time is a powerful symbol for the enduring force of love. Ages 2–5. (Dec.)
Graham employs language that emphasizes lovely quiet moments and the continuous, slow passage of time, as "the seasons kept turning," and "moons passed many times overhead." The lovely, softly toned illustrations beautifully complement the text...Lovely to look at and to ponder, best suited to children of a philosophical bent.
—Kirkus Reviews
Lovely, sweeping views take in all that happens to the golden ring after it lands in a seaside meadow...Graham focuses on the passing of time and the slow action of the natural world; in contrast to the sweet, pudgy human figures, softly tinted landscapes are airy and graceful. And the ring’s survival through space and time is a powerful symbol for the enduring force of love.
—Publishers Weekly
12/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Award-winning Graham (Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child) constructs a story around one lost object, a poesy ring, and the events that happen to it until it is rediscovered more than 100 years later. While young children may not know what a poesy ring is, the inscription "love never dies" engraved on the inside clearly evokes that it is a ring of commitment and adults sharing this story have an opportunity to discuss new vocabulary and customs with children. Illustrated in ink, watercolor, and pastels, the artwork beautifully reflects nature, for the ring spends much of its time outdoors throughout the story. Initially lost in Ireland in 1830 by a woman weeping bitter tears, the ring ends up next to a fallen acorn from a boy's pocket. Storms pass and wildlife creep by before a mighty oak grows to its full potential. Graham's art is magnificent; small details sprinkled throughout provide a sense of time passing, while it seems like no time for the ring since it doesn't change. Eventually, a farmer exposes it and a bird picks it up and drops it into the ocean. After many years, one fish swallows it before it is caught by fishermen. When the fish is opened, the poesy ring is revealed and sold. It is now 1967 in New York City and two street musicians enter the pawn shop and buy the ring. No matter how much time has passed or oceans crossed, love still holds true. VERDICT This is a real gem and so lovingly rendered, it should be a first purchase for all libraries serving children.—Rachel Zuffa, Case High School, Racine, WI
2018-09-17
In 1830 a tearful young woman flings a ring into the air, and it lands in a seaside meadow in Ireland.
That is the last time the woman appears; the ring's inscription, "Love Never Dies," appears on the title page and is never clearly seen again. The tale follows the ring from its first landing to its ultimate destination. Shifted by erosion, then sheltered by an oak tree until caught in a deer's hoof and kicked into a wheat field, the ring is then picked up in a crow's beak, dropped into the sea, and swallowed by a fish. When the fish is caught and gutted, the ring is discovered and sold in New York City. Jules and Sonny, who earn money as subway performers in 1967, buy the ring, then head home through the winter night. Graham employs language that emphasizes lovely quiet moments and the continuous, slow passage of time, as "the seasons kept turning," and "moons passed many times overhead." The lovely, softly toned illustrations beautifully complement the text. Sonny and Jules, whose emotions are depicted mainly through body language, present white. However, indications of time, whether specific or esoteric, are incomprehensible to very young children, who are grounded in the now, gearing it for older readers than the preschoolers recommended by the publisher.
Lovely to look at and to ponder, best suited to children of a philosophical bent. (Picture book. 5-9)
