Love and the Rocking Chair

by Diane Dillon, Leo Dillon

Two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon celebrate the love we feel for our children in this touching, multi-generational story about the lasting power of family.

Simple words and colorful paintings tell the warm, engaging story of new parents who buy a rocking chair when they are expecting a baby. Bright, sunny illustrations show the precious intimacy between parents and their children; the new mother glows with affection, and the new father reads aloud to their young son.

Time passes, and the boy grows up; the beloved rocker is moved to the attic and gathers dust. But when the boy becomes a man, the cycle begins anew. He and his wife have a baby girl, and the rocking chair is needed again.

Legendary artists Leo and Diane Dillon are two of the greatest illustrators of our time. This is their final collaboration, inspired by their own rocking chair. It is a tender tribute to the enduring power of family love-passed from generation to generation.

Here is a book for all ages to cherish. It serves as a loving reminder of those who have gone before us-and those who are still to come. A touching, multi-generational story about the lasting power of family.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Death, Childrens, Love, Cultural, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Diane Dillon is a celebrated American magazine and book-cover artist, and a children's book author and illustrator. The vast majority of her work was done collaboratively with her husband, Leo Dillon, with whom she won her many awards.

Born in Los Angeles in 1933, Diane Sorber was educated at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she met Leo Dillon, who was initially a fierce artistic competitor. Their fifty-year collaboration, after their eventual marriage, resulted in over one hundred speculative fiction book and magazine covers, and numerous picture-book illustrations. They were jointly awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1976 and 1977, the only artists to be so honored twice in a row. The Dillons had one son, Lee Dillon, who also became an artist, and with whom they collaborated on Nancy Willard's Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch. Diane Dillon's first solo project, published after Leo's death in 2012, is the recent I Can Be Anything! Don't Tell Me I Can't. (source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple but charming story about a rocking chair that is loved and passed down through multiple generations of a family.

I have to admit, while I appreciate what the authors did with the simplicity of the illustrations, I'm not exactly loving the aesthetic. It might be more appreciated by adults than by children. I also don't know if the intergenerational storyline (featuring mostly grownups, and marriage and death as plot points) is going to be that appealing to younger readers. It's probably the sort of book parents will want to read with their children, rather than a book that kids will feel compelled to pick up on their own.

Those looking for books about tradition, heirlooms, and family bonds might enjoy this book, and it's to them that I would most likely recommend it.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a few other reviewers have already noted, this is one that is more likely to be chosen by adults than by the children. It is relatively sparse in its artwork and the message is poignant, if beautiful. I do appreciate the inter-racial couples portrayed in the story and that is why I was told I must read it but it is a story that transcends skin color and just reminds us that family is often who we choose to love and family is never about only one generation.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not crying, you are!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Many years ago, a young couple stood in a sea of chairs, searching for just the right one. "Look at that chair over there. It's perfect for the baby's room," the young woman said.



Premise/plot: Love and the Rocking Chair celebrates generations of a family and the legacy of a rocking chair passed on through the years. The book opens with a young couple expecting a baby and looking for just-the-right rocking chair. The chair is used when he is a baby and as he continues to grow. It is a chair he chooses to use in his own nursery when he's all grown up and expecting a child of his own...


My thoughts: Love and The Rocking Chair is a picture book for older readers. Dare I say it's a picture books written specificially with adults in mind?! It's a lovely book, don't get me wrong. But it's a book packed with sentiment and wisdom that only age can truly appreciate.


Love and the Rocking Chair is a bittersweet read. On the one hand, captured within this gem of a book are scenes of a family through the years. Babies being rocked. Toddlers being read to. Children imagining and playing. Children growing up, getting older, moving on, etc. On the other hand, it captures some heartbreaking moments as well. The husband/father getting old/sick, the wife/mother and the son standing together by a casket mourning. The wife/mother/grandmother wishing that her husband could be by her side to see his granddaughter. It's TOUGH, TOUGH I tell you on the heart strings.


It captures what life is--the way things are, the way things will always be in this world. LOVE is always present. Every single spread captures what it means to love and be loved. That's a difficult thing perhaps to capture in a meaningful way.


Text: 5 out of 5

Illustrations: 4 out of 5

Total: 9 out of 10

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by the rocking chair the Dillons purchased when they were awaiting the birth of their own child as well as the artwork of painter Milton Avery, this picture book follows a rocking chair as it takes a central place in a home and becomes a place of comfort. In the chair, the growing child listens to his mother's lullabies and the stories his father reads. Later, the chair features in his dramatic play. But as often happens, it ends up becoming a resting place for toys, eventually being stashed away in the attic when he grows up. Once the boy marries, he brings his wife home with him, and the rocker assumes its important role in the family once again. Created with acrylics, the artwork contains simple but meaningful family scenes that might tear at readers' hearts as the mother and father watch their son leave for college and as the father becomes ill and eventually dies, leaving his survivors bereft. But as is often the case, there are happy moments awaiting the family after all that sorrow. The last image with the son, his wife, his mother, and the little girl all arranged around the chair is made even more poignant by the photograph or painting of the father on the wall, gone but never forgotten. Having each painting set against plenty of white space makes the images stand out. The book jacket states that this is the last collaboration from the Dillons, a fitting end to a wonderful artistic career. Many parents will weep as they read this book, and it certainly made me emotional. But I also loved seeing the father and son sharing a love for literacy during the boy's formative years.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful, gentle, loving book. I heard the Dillons speak at the Virginia Hamilton Conference at Kent State University several years ago. This expresses their loving relationship with each other and their son. It is a perfect book about the love of a family passed through generations through something as simple as a rocking chair.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterfully illustrated book about an interracial couple, a rocking chair, and their growing family.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story about family. Lovely illustrations.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book! Tells the journey of a family’s rocking chair. Positive family messages and beautiful illustrations. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Shauna Yusko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, it’s the Dillons. But I think this is more picture book for grownups or gifting.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple book about family and the smallest of traditions that can come back for the next generation—Love and The Rocking Chair by Leo & Diane Dillion It’s about the celebration of life through our children And how families can remember the bonds between them.

As the Dillons are known for their more fantastic and fantasy-based illustrations this book hits close to home showing a normal family in a normal life.

This may be a book that parents gravitate more and will read to their children and this very well may be a book that children will get a better feel for once they’re older. Loved this one! Will have to buy in print as I read a digital library copy. ♥️

[The Book Maven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flat, minimal, subdued illustrations do not detract--if anything, they emphasize--from the story being told here. It's a sweet, multigenerational tale spanning parents, children, and grandchildren, as they form bonds in the titular rocking chair. Two things in particular help this book to stand out: the way in which it brings the death of a family member into the tale, and the interracial couples who people the book. None of this is presented in a way that is overt or beats one about the head; it's just part of the story, and a fine story it is, to teach children about love, family, and childrearing.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very personal story from a legendary picture book creator, an ode to her family, loved, and her late husband, lost.

It's the rare picture book that depicts death as candidly as did this one, with mother and grown son grieving over a casket. The multigenerational connections with the rocking chair will be easily transposed by young readers onto other family heirlooms. A very gentle story and palate.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the Dillons; I'm going to like it, you know. C'mon! Though I agree with another reviewer who said this is probably better suited for gifting or adult readers. It's very gentle and chock-full of love. It reminded me of their other book based on Ecclesiastes, To Everything There is a Season, in that this carries us through all of life's seasons; we see someone born, and we see someone die. Very gently and without any maudlin carrying on or morbidity, with love, the story is told.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I imagine reading this to a group of children, and the chorus of 'I have a rocking chair!', and 'my grandpa is dead' that will happen. No big deal. Maybe a child or two will remember the story or recognize it on a shelf at the library, but I can't see them asking to hear it again, or pulling it off the shelf and wanting to hear it more than once. I think this is a sweet story, more for a parent or grandparent to share with a child, but expect the adult will be the one choosing this story.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family uses a rocking chair across generations in this touching story inspired by events in the creators’ shared life. The Dillons collaborated on many books during their award filled careers, this final collaboration has been finished by Diane after the passing of Leo in 2012. Acrylic paintings featuring simple shapes and flat colors were inspired by the work of Milton Avery and suit the reassuring tone of this simple story of love and time. This book is meant for family reading.

[Abby Johnson]

A lovely, poignant last collaboration between husband and wife team Leo and Diane Dillon (Leo passed away in 2012), this would be an excellent book for expectant parents or grandparents and it has a lovely message about the importance of things passed down from generation to generation. Definitely a book for adults, but just a lovely piece of art.

[charlene.librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This last collaboration for Leo and Diane Dillon is "in memory of Leo and Greg." It's a love song for family continuing from one generation to another, and I imagine it depicts the story of the Dillons themselves in a simple and lovely way. We are indebted to the Dillons for their remarkable body of work in children's books. Many thanks.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man and woman shop for a special chair. They buy a rocking chair for the nursery. Soon the baby arrives and grows into a man. He has used the chair but now it is in the attic. When the man gets married and plans his own family, he brings the chair down from the attic. Now a new baby arrives and the chair is in her nursery.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple and sweet story that will appeal to parents more than kids. It's the story of a rocking chair that's used as a metaphor for the love families share and pass from one generation to the next. The illustrations are gorgeous and I love that all the families are interracial - a very positive, happy portrayal.

[Mary Bilbrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book "Love and the Rocking Chair," the authors Leo & Diane Dillon tell a story of how they order a rocking chair before the baby is born, but even after the child is born the family keeps the rocking chair as a piece of their family heritage. Read the story to find out why the rocking chair is so important to the family.

[Audrey | WellReadandUndead(ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this, but the novelty of having an item passed down through generations represent familial love across time is starting to wear off. To be fair to this book, it was published before the other books I read, but the story won't stay with me the way some of the others have. I do like the wide variety of emotions displayed in and evoked by the book.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautiful and hearfelt final collaboration of amazing illustrators and partners Leo and Diane Dillon, Love and the Rocking Chair reminds me of the intergenerational love and care of Love You Forever, but it's even BETTER!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried. A simple, heartfelt story of a rocking chair being passed down through a family. The Dillons are masters and the illustrations in their last collaboration, based on a story from their own family, are absolutely perfect. Highly recommended for ages 3-6 and adults.

[Erin Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that is about the continuing love of a family. The book also has amazing multi-cultural representation in its illustrations and has a multi-racial family, which many students would be able to relate to.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the feeling while reading this that it was a story more for adults remembering the past than for young children. As the Dillons have produced many excellent books, this is also lovely to look at and has a memorable storyline.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so lovely.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Copy...warm illustration coupled with gentle prose brings to life a narrative about family and the things that passed with time both material and immaterial.

[Shaunterria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to be published on blog and in Booklist.

[Bkrieth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with love and a look into family bonds through the generations, this is a lovely last joint project from the Dillons. F&G Reviewed.