I keep stumbling across these wonderful creators I wish I’d know earlier. Dahlov Ipcar is one of these creators. One thing about Ipcar is that her works are all very different from one another. The Cat at Night is quite different from My Wonderful Christmas Tree, and both are different from The Calico Jungle (1965).
Oh, there are definite similarities: they all feature animals, there’s a strong sense of design, there’s lovely artwork, and so on. But the nature of the books–and the art–differs considerably, making it clear that for Ipcar, exploration was a major part of art.
This book is old, but it feels even older than it is, starting with “Once there was a little boy” and an image that, except for the clothing styles, could come from 1865 rather than 1965: a mother sewing a quilt by hand for her son.
The boy happily sleeps under this quilt night after night, enjoying the knowledge that he’s loved, but also enjoying the patterns and colors on the quilt. As he examines these patterns, he sees rather complex jungle stories playing out on the quilt. The boy traces the stories in the designs, which with the animals asleep. And soon, so is he. A good night time book.
