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"Mother Goose. Numbers On the Loose" by Leo and Diane Dillon

Author:

Leo and Diane Dillon

Publisher:

2007

Reviewed by:

John Warren Stewig, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis.

The synonym “elegant” comes immediately to mind for the Dillons’ art. They’ve had a long, highly acclaimed joint career, using a wide variety of mediums to illustrate myriad genres. The artistic collaborators have exerted the kind of control which allows them to pare the art of unnecessary elements, focusing in on essentials which will have the most dramatic visual impact.

Here the art is rich with decorative patterns; these are carefully played off against large areas of solid color, and even larger areas of plain, bright white. The pages are, as a result, never visually “nervous.” In addition to patterns within a given shape, the Dillons often repeat a shape so that another, larger scale pattern is created. In this, legs and arms, beaks and claws march across the double spread openings to create this second type of pattern. The restrained san serif type face in blocks with a few larger, colored serif words and numbers are a pleasant, unobtrusive accompaniment to the art. Among the many Mother Goose collections available, this is an especially important one for introducing young viewers to the idea of visual aesthetics. Use this with a book on a different topic, RAP A TAP TAP. HERE’S BOJANGLES—THINK OF THAT (Scholastic 2002) as a way to help children continue to think about and react to the artists’ use of pattern contrasting with white space.