In the Heart by Ann Turner & Illus by Salley Mavor

It seems a bit... pointless to be writing blog posts about children's books when there is so much turmoil and upheaval. (Las Vegas and Puerto Rico break my heart!) But there is a measure of comfort in the simplistic view of the world held in children's books--a reminder of a time when all the havoc of grown ups was something for them to deal with while I just got on being a kid. 

Sometime in the past few decades, the grown up has turned into me. And all the havoc of the world seems somehow my responsibility--something I should be doing something about. Yet, there is so very, very little we can do. 

So I continue to write blog posts about kids books. I rhapsodize about coziness, beautiful illustrations, lovely words, and tiny books. 

It may be like an ostrich, but we all have to make the world bearable for ourselves and those around us. So I continue to take pictures of books and talk about how delightful they are. Because that is what makes me happy. And if you are here, reading this post, kids books must make you happy in some shape or form. I like to think this is my way of making the world more beautiful. But whether it is or not, I do know that writing about kids books makes life more bearable for me. 

And now, back to this lovely fall book--

This book is so cozy! I mean it features felt characters after all... 

Isn't this tiny woolen world charming? I love how textural felt is as a medium! 

Salley Mavor is an incredible woolen artist. I sometimes think crafted and then photographed illustrations are hokey, but these illustrations are marvelous!

The heart of the day is the sun:

a warm blanket on my eyes and nose and feet,

a gold hat for my head.

This book explores all the different "hearts" there are in this child's world. 

The heart of the house is my kitchen:

orange cat by my seat, 

a muffin warms my hand, 

talk like clouds of steam. 

I want to be in that kitchen right now. Do you see the woolen plates?! Must. Have. 

The heart of the yard.

The heart of the town is my school. 

The heart of bedtime is my story:

your knees my chair,

your words in my hair,

pictures for dreams. 

Oh the security and warmth of these words and this scene! 

The pictures themselves are worth staring at for hours, but the words are so lovely and warm that they work together seamlessly to make this a treasure of a book!