TWILIGHT COMES TWICE by Ralph Fletcher

In this work, Twilight Comes Twice, the author and artist, Kate Kiesler, have explored my two favorite times of day: the two twilight periods, dawn and dusk. The text is done in a flowing, simple poetic type prose, and those who love poetry will love this one. As to the text, I do disagree with the brief paragraph published by The School Library Journal (who, more often than not, get it wrong anyway), in that they state that the metaphors used are sometimes more distracting than illuminating. This may be so for the adult, but I have not found this to be true with any child I have read this one with. This I fear is the mind set that seems to be in vogue of late, i.e. underestimating the intelligence of our kids. If a child is to grow into a truly literate adult, they need to understand metaphors, their meaning the their use. You cannot, in my opinion, start this process soon enough. What better way to begin than with a work like this. Yes, I will admit that this may take some actual work on some adults part,i.e. an explanation, but is not what adults are suppose to do? Even a bad metaphor is better than no metaphor at all when teaching. Anyway....

The art work in this book is stunning. The story, and there is a story here, deals with people, the environment and the creatures and critters around us. The entire book is a feast for the eye and ear. The story deals with the two areas mentioned above...what happens during these wonderful times of the day? Why are they so enchanting? Why have poets written about them for hundreds of years? It is enjoyable, the kids that I read this book with like it, which, when all is said and done, is the best endorsement, and it seems to never get old for the little ones. What is more fun, after reading and discussing this one with your child, take that child and go for a walk in the woods, fields, park or neighborhood. You will be absolutely amazed at how effective this work is and how it make an impression on their minds. This is certainly one you need to add to your child's library. Highly recommend this one.

Considerations:::
The Accelerated Reading level for Twilight Comes Twice is 3.5 which means that the average 3rd Grader in the 5th month of school should be able to read it without becoming frustrated by the vocabulary. It can be read to any age, of course.