M. H. Clark (1)

Every night when the sky is richly painted with lush shades of pink, blue and gold, there is a man who carries a bag on his bag and a lantern in his hands.

The little boy has seen him walking in the forest, the young boy longs to know the secret of the man who walks were the forest and the field meet.

Scattering stars from his bag, the man tosses them liberally up, up in the sky.

One night, the young boy meets the man who scatters the stars, and learns that each one is named for a specific emotion, kindness, love and happiness.

The man who scatters the stars, gave the boy the brightest star to throw high into the sky. Thus, a new star is born, one that the boy will recognize because it holds a very special emotional part of the boy.

This book contains exquisite illustrations, accompanied by a lovely tale of a boy who learns that he holds the secret of the stars, and that when he is kind, and loving, he discovers that his small acts have wonderful consequences that live on in the light of the world.… (altro)

A lovely poetic celebration of the idea of belonging - each being and thing having a place where it belongs - and interconnectedness - everything belonging together with something else, in a particular relationship of place or love, or both - You Belong Here is a gorgeous picture-book, one that pairs a beautiful text with haunting artwork. There is much here about the natural world: "The whales and the fishes belong in the sea / and the waves belong by the shore, / and the dune's where the grasses belong to be / because grasses are what dunes are for. / And the trees belongs in the wild wood / and the deer belong in their shade, / and the birds belong so safe and good / and warm in the nests that they've made." But there is also a refrain that assures the young listener that they too belong, together with the reader - perhaps a parent? - in a circle of love.

Poet M.H. Clark delivers a powerful work here, one that reads well aloud, and will linger long after in the mind, with beautiful word-images and thoughtful juxtapositions of creature and place. Isabelle Arsenault, who also illustrated Jane, the Fox, and Me and Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois, delivers equally lovely visual images, utilizing a subtle sepia-toned palette, with the occasional colorful accent, to create a world both mysterious and inviting - a world where one belongs, together with all of the rest of creation. Recommended to anyone who enjoys beautiful picture-books, as well as to anyone who would like a reassurance tale - one that says: "yes, young listener, you do belong: you belong with those who love you" - that is as poetic as it is calming.… (altro)