Once upon another time, the world was young and new. If you want to know this world, there's something you can do... With sweeping landscapes and up-close details of the natural world, Once Upon Another Time takes readers through a lyrical exploration of the world as it was before humans made their mark. Contrasting the past with the present, this expansive picture book serves as a warm invitation for children--and all people--to appreciate, explore, and protect the magic and wonder of this planet we call home. Written by award-winning authors Charles Ghigna and Matt Forrest Esenwine, and illustrated by Andr's F. Landaz bal, Once Upon Another Time is a stunning portrait of a world that used to exist, and can still be found--if you just know where to look.
Matt Forrest Esenwine is an author and poet from Warner, New Hampshire. His debut picture book, Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Best Picture Books for Kids of 2017. His poetry can be found in numerous anthologies, including The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (National Geographic Children's Books, 2015), I Am Someone Else (Charlesbridge, 2019), and Highlights for Children. Charles Ghigna, aka Father GooseO, lives in a treehouse in the middle of Alabama. He is the author of more than one hundred books from Random House, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc., Disney, Hyperion, Scholastic, Abrams, Boyds Mills Press, Charlesbridge, Capstone, Orca, and other publishers. He has written more than five thousand poems for children and adults that have appeared in anthologies, newspapers and magazines ranging from The New Yorker and Harper's to Highlights and Cricket magazines. He served as poet in residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, instructor of creative writing at Samford University, poetry editor of English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, and as a nationally syndicated poetry feature writer for Tribune Media Services. He speaks at schools, conferences, libraries, and literary events throughout the US and overseas, and has read his poems at the Library of Congress, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Library in Paris, the American School in Paris, and the International Schools of South America. Andres F. Landazabal is an illustrator and art director based in Armenia, Colombia. His work has appeared in film, television, and print for companies such as Sesame Street, Discovery Kids, and Fox. Landazabal's love for drawing and painting was instilled at a young age as he read classic illustrated children's books.
"Luminous, peaceful illustrations depicting an era before builidings, cars, and modern technology contrast sharply with those depciting our busy, cramped, and almost too-loud present day. The rhyming text perfectly complements the art, encouraging readers to disconnect from the everyday devices that consume our days and explore this other time by stepping out into the nature that is all around us. A necessary addition to picutre-book collections." --Booklist "This is an evocative encouragement to experience the glory of nature." --Publishers Weekly "Ghigna and Esenwine provide a vehicle to ferry young readers back to a time when the wonders of nature called to them more powerfully than any computer screen ever could. Once Upon Another Time's glorious poetry and paintings are a perfect pairing." --Nikki Grimes, author of One Last Word and Garvey's Choice "A beautiful, lyrical tribute to the wonder and hush of the natural world, matched by lush, painterly illustrations of wide-open spaces. Once Upon Another Time is sure to inspire children to leave their screens behind and 'take a step outside,' breathe the same air that was 'once shared by dinosaurs,' and imagine where the wind has been." --Diana Murray, author of City Shapes and Summer Color! "In Once Upon Another Time, the reader is transported to a world where we can "breathe the air that once was shared by monstrous dinosaurs!" With lyrical language and fresh images, Ghigna and Esenwine invite the reader to imagine -- and then go out and experience -- that natural world full of 'canyon walls,' 'sunny fields,' and 'passing clouds' --timeless wonders of our planet." --Dr. Sylvia Vardell, professor, Texas Woman's University and poetry anthologist, A World Full of Poems "Words and pictures work beautifully together to encourage young readers to look up and behold something bigger than all of us. Ghigna and Esenwine have created a rhyming book that is smooth and enjoyable to read out loud. Landazabal fills the cheerful, retro-feel illustrations with lots of details, as well as interesting tones and textures, that encourage the viewer to linger rather than turn the page." --Brian Lies, author and illustrator of Bats on the Beach and The Rough Patch "Part lullaby, part serenade, the text croons a sensorial tribute to the simple wonders of our natural world, nudging readers to notice, explore, and savor the 'young and new in every day.'" --Lee Wardlaw, author of Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku "Once Upon Another Time is timely and playfully crafted--a beautiful book that I can't wait to read to the grandkids." --Eileen Spinelli, author of Love You Always and Thankful "Vivid colors and gorgeous landscapes interweave with poetic prose as we all yearn for the wild, fresh freedom of another time." --Fred Koehler, illustrator of Flashlight Night, What If, Then We and Garbage Island
