An Alphabet of Angels

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Willard's (A Visit to William Blake's Inn) lifelong fancy for angels results in this intriguing though often puzzling abecedary. Featuring a heavenly host of photographs (Willard not only penned the text but also proves an accomplished photo-stylist), each spread showcases angel figurines, dolls or ornaments in a fanciful, frequently mysterious setting. Angels are aloft and abroad; they alight in the garden, the house, the city streets-the thought-provoking photographs are filled with whimsy. The letter ``D,'' for example, bears the message, ``The angel of dreaming flies in her sleep,'' and the accompanying photograph presents a softly lit, classical-style bust of a woman against a midnight-black background with an angel figurine hovering just above her shoulder. The imaginative artwork, combined with Willard's pleasure in language and the sheer loveliness of her cryptic poetry (``The angels of flowers have startled the grass/ The angel of games lets nobody pass'') may be enough to engage young readers, but ultimately the book seems more for adults infected with the current flurry of interest in the winged creatures than for children. All ages. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

K Up-Willard has assembled a collection of photographs of angel statuettes- ceramic, cloth, wood, or metal; blond, darkskinned, Oriental, or gnomish. Ingeniously arranged against backgrounds of light and shadow, posed against painted settings or among flowering plants, the full-page pictures offer a gallery of portraits. Some of the winged dolls are guardians of the mundane (eggs, flowers, ink, and vegetables), while others are more imaginative or visionary, associated with dreaming, night, planets, and ``yonder.'' Rhyming couplets link the letters of the alphabet to the scenes and seek to make sense of the sometimes mystifying choices of settings. Unfortunately, Willard's real talent for poetry is constrained here by the need to connect with the pictures. For example, photos of a papier-mch fish (decorated with an angel) and two figurines are explained as ``J-The angel of journeys is friend to the fish; K- The Angel of knapsacks delivers a wish.'' Further along, ``The angel of windows opens them wide. The angel of X rays takes us inside.'' The photographs in this artistic book will appeal to collectors of angelic memorabilia. In fact, the book seems aimed to please adults who enjoy angels, and may indeed offer them a sharing experience with children.-Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ

Ilene Cooper

Most people know Willard as a talented writer ("A Visit to William Blake's Inn", among others). She demonstrates here that she is also a talented folk artist. Using all manner of ceramic, stone, and metal angels and surprising, subjective backdrops, Willard celebrates these celestial beings in photographic vignettes, with the alphabet as a framework. The title is misleading, though; this is in no real sense an alphabet book. The letter "Y"'s text, "The angel of yonder looks after the light," will not mean much to young children. But the photo of a velvet-clad angel surrounded by moons and stars and clouds is beautifully conceived and will have as much appeal for young eyes as for the delighted adults who will be reading the book. In fact, this book should be an enchanting meeting place for children and adults. Little ones will be carried by the mood of the pictures and the music of the words, while the spirit evoked by Willard's art will give adults a reason for wonder.