VirusHead

Not too long ago, I was asked by a publisher if I might consider reviewing a children’s book. We corresponded a little bit and I said I would take a look. If I liked the book, I’d say so, and I’d run it by our little boy as well to see what he thought.

Well, I got the one book, but then I also received two more books directly from the author. They were all signed, with the date, and inscribed to Ben with message “Follow Your Dreams.” Ben was very happy with that, and so was I. Thank you, Stephen!

I opened up Creatures of the Night, and scanned the inside flaps as I normally do. There was a sweet photograph of Stephen J. Brooks holding a cute little girl – I’m guessing his daughter – but this is what send an arrow to my heart:

He has served as a Federal Agent for over a decade and writes to comfort children. He has always escaped into the magical world of word: comforted through poetry and prose alike.

In The Fairy Ball (which was I think intended for ME {smile}), there was more:

Now, more than ever, he sees the need to reassure children. He works to provide them a magical setting where they can escape the tribulations of their environment. Mr. Brooks writes books that provide enchanting worlds where children are safe to wander and explore.

Because this is a set of concerns very close to my own heart, I have to admit that I am predisposed to like the books. And I did like them. He has worked with different illustrators, some better than others. They are written in the kind of basic poetry found in many children’s books. The recurring theme is a child who wanders out to explore and experience a magical place, is able to navigate the environment and find new aspects of reality, and then returns to the mundane protected with a touch of spirit to help and guide them.

Part of the value of such books is to feed the imagination of children so that they can activate ways of seeing differently using their imaginations.

This sort of imaginative “inner space making” has survival value. I have experienced it for myself and I am convinced of the aching need most children have for it. Children who have experienced difficult realities have even more need for this than the more protected children do. This is how we learn to make sense of our experiential worlds and to multiply the possibilities for making our way along through them.

Ben’s favorite was Alexander Asenby’s Great Adventure. The young boy knight rides a dragon through the starry sky, helps a fairy king protect a town from trolls and other frightening creatures, shares in the celebratory feast and rides the dragon home – all the way back through the closet door. As a girl who would hide out in the closet at times, that rang well with me, too.

I also liked the metaphorical scent of lilac that permeated The Fairy Ball. It’s my favorite flower, and it has always made me feel that all was well. Oh, to dance with the fairies in a glen full of lilacs!

My favorite, however, was the one that I had opened first. Creatures of the Night is a bedtime story that opens up a meditative awareness of all the night-time lives that can surround us. The books constructs a privileged viewpoint that sees what no child can see. That in itself is very fun, but the story goes further in that it evokes an almost mystical sense of place in which the child can feel that he or she really is part of it all, belonging to the surrounding world of all the nighttime creatures. Nicely done.

Alas, I am also a teacher, and one who loves poetry, and so I cannot resist making a couple of suggestions for bringing future books to the next level.

If Mr. Brooks would pull more visual texture into the vocabulary, they could become extraordinary books.

It’s a matter of personal preference, of course, but I also think he could rethink the poetry’s meter. If he keeps the basic four-line stanza, the poetry would be better without the extra syllable in the last line. When you read it out loud, it is difficult to decide where the stress should be. I suspect many parents and children stumble there.

The majestic coyote makes his way
Through the woods each night.
He calls his friends to come and play
As he howls in the moon’s bright light.

I would prefer the last line to have the same beat, something like “Howling through the moon’s bright light.”

I enjoyed the books very much and so did Ben. My suggestions here are intended in a spirit of support.

I look forward to reading new books by Stephen Brooks. Writing gets better and better with the right kind of heart, and he has that in abundance.