Who doesn't love Douglas Wood?  I picked up Where the Sunrise Begins last week and, like many of his books, it's sure to find a spot on my shelf of favorites.  Wendy Popp's illustrations are calm, serene and match her motto of, "Find work with good purpose and create with passion."  It's a lovely book.
     Like A Quiet Place, this book is written in a lyrical, rhythmical, and predictable voice... answering the question, "Where does the sunrise begin?"  Douglas Wood captures everyday questions and events in the most surprising way.  Added to Nothing to Do and Old Turtle and others, this makes a grand addition to any classroom collection. 
     I think Douglas Wood's books are filled with possibilities to encourage children to fill up their own writer's notebooks with language that's rich, purposeful, and extraordinary.  There's a flow to his writing that might just nudge the most reticent writers in the classroom.  His writing is filled with images, inferences, and insights.
     Check out his website.  Paddle Whispers is on my list for my friends that trek to Boundary Waters with their family almost yearly.  And, many of his songs might just make it into the background of your reader's or writer's workshop.  What a talented man.
     Some say pictures books are a dying entity... But they haven't read Douglas Wood, I would surmise.