Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

You may have noticed that there's not a picture included with this post. This is because the poem (in storybook format) I read does not appear in a Google search. I love giving readers the cover as a visual of what I'm blogging about, but in this case, I do not have the cover to provide.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod is an old poem written by a man, Eugene W. Field in 1889. This is a famous poem, often times recited to children as they drift off to sleep. The poem is about three fisherman who go on a dream in a wooden shoe to catch stars in the night sky. When the dream is over, the three fisherman head back to reality to where a child is getting ready to go to sleep. The version I read is illustrated by David McPhail.

This poem is simple and easy. The front cover shows three rabbits (the fisherman) riding in a wooden shoe at night. The moon, with a face, takes up most of the front cover. By looking at the cover, readers can assume this could easily be read before bedtime. The illustrator uses different shades of blue on each page to show night and the position of the moon depends on how light or dark the blue hue is. There are many horizontal, wavy lines to show the fisherman sailing in shoe. The lines are not crazy and going all over the place. They are nice, smooth, almost rhythmic lines which gave me a sense of calmness as I was reading.

As stated, the poem is easy and light and the illustrations follow the same pattern. This poem does rhyme. The first page of text states, "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night/Sailed off in a wooden shoe--/Sailed on a river of crystal light/Into a sea of dew." There are two pages of 5-line stanzas and the rest of the poem ranges from three to four lines of text. The illustrations are not overly "busy" and, again, gives the readers a sense of an adventure, but not one that's thrill-seeking and extremely excitable.

This poem is very enjoyable and soothing. Readers get almost a relaxed feeling as the text is being read. I think this would make a great poem to read as a child is drifting off to dreamland.