Picture Book Review – Light Speaks
LIGHT SPEAKS
Written by Christine Layton
Illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell
(Tilbury House Publishers; $18.95; Ages 4-8)
From the Publisher:
“An enchanting picture book about the joyful, mysterious, awe-inspiring messages of light.”
Review:
This beautiful book begins with light’s first daily message to a young child: Awake
And continues to explain all the ways light speaks to us—in our daily lives…
through nature…
and throughout space and time—covering both natural and manmade light sources.
Christine Layton’s spare, poetic text leaves plenty of room for illustrator, Luciana Navarro Powell’s luminous art to shine in this nonfiction concept book. Young listeners will pour over Powells’ beautiful art as they listen to Layton’s lyrical, mysterious text while older readers delight in unraveling its mystery. (And for those who just can’t wait, Layton provides a more detailed, scientific look at some of the abstract concepts in the book like the way light “echoes off planets and moons” or “tells lies.”
Light Speaks would make an excellent science and ELA text for the classroom—especially when paired with more straightforward nonfiction like Light Waves by David Adler and Anna Raff (Holiday House, 2018)—as it would lend itself to cross-curricular discussions about science and poetry.
*Highly recommended
- Reviewed by Roxanne Troup