ALA Booklist

First published in Stevenson's classic collection A Child's Garden of Verses in 1883, this timeless poem about imaginative play gets its own lively picture book here, centering on a contemporary boy who uses his building blocks to make his own world. Toddlers will see themselves in clear, double-page spreads that show the boy on the carpet by the sofa, using colored blocks of different shapes and sizes to build a town by the sea. The simple rhyming words (Great is the palace / with pillar and wall, / A sort of a tower / on the top of it all) and crisp computer graphics show how single shapes and objects can join in all kinds of scenarios. Then comes the power of knocking everything all down (block upon block / lying scattered and free), though the boy will always remember his town by the sea--even as he joins his friends outside in their suburban subdivision.

Horn Book

A color-drenched picture book renews the appeal of a poem first published in the classic A Child's Garden of Verses. Bold, close-up illustrations show a boy happily whiling away a rainy day by building--and then just as gleefully knocking over--a town by the sea. A celebration of imaginary play, this lilting poem remains timeless and engaging.

Kirkus Reviews

Echoing Ashley Wolff's 1988 approach to Stevenson's poetic tribute to the power of imagination, Kirk begins with neatly drawn scenes of a child in a playroom, assembling large wooden blocks into, "A kirk and a mill and a palace beside, / And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride." All of these acquire grand architectural details and toy-like inhabitants as the pages turn, until at last the narrator declares, "Now I have done with it, down let it go!" In a final twist, the young city-builder is shown running outside, into a well-kept residential neighborhood in which all the houses except his have been transformed into piles of blocks. Not much to choose between the two interpretations, but it's a poem that every child should have an opportunity to know. (Picture book/poetry. 5-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Kirk (Moondogs) creates a compelling contemporary setting for a poem from Stevenson's classic A Child's Garden of Verses. and the results are felicitous all around. Kirk pictures a boy on a rainy day, who answers the question """"What are you able to build with your blocks?"""" with an elaborate harbor city set against a mountain range (inspired by the green sofa and turquoise carpet of the living room). There's """"a kirk and a mill/ and a palace beside"""" (the illustrator helpfully notes on the copyright page that """"the word 'kirk' means church. You can trust me on this one""""). The boy also imagines elephant sentries and visiting potentates who are """"Coming and going/ with presents and things!"""" The smooth, stylized surfaces and careful detail make a fitting match for the formality and floweriness of Stevenson's verse; even when there's no verse at all (Kirk turns the center spread into a wordless procession worthy of Cecil B. DeMille), the poet's playful and gentlemanly presence hovers over all. The city doesn't survive for long, however. Even way back when, Stevenson understood that half the fun of building up is tearing down: as the skies clear and sun streams through the window, the boy says, """"Now I have done with it,/ down let it go!/ All in a moment,/ the town is laid low."""" More than a century may separate Kirk and his author, but clearly they're simpatico. Ages 3-6.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-This colorfully illustrated version of Stevenson's poem is as relevant today as when it was written for A Child's Garden of Verses in 1883. On a rainy day, a small boy constructs a city with building blocks. His imagination soars and his creation soon includes a harbor, mill, palace, and kirk (the illustrator helpfully defines the word "kirk" on the verso of the title page). The couch becomes a mountain range and the carpet an ocean, while a collection of toy people populate his vast domain. Done in colored pencils and gouache in rich, deep colors, the large, clear pictures have a retro feel. The boy's real and imagined towns are both blanketed by dark rain clouds that soon give way to sun and bright blue skies. Demolition appears to be as satisfying as the building process for this youngster: "Now I have done with it,/down let it go!/All in a moment/the town is laid low." Having had enough quiet entertainment for one day, he runs out into the sunshine to join friends, but his imaginary world remains clear in his mind. This enduring poem will charm modern children.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.