The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill: Travels with Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a very nice picture book for children. It contains the poetry of Robert Luis Stevenson and the story of a boat trip he took from England to New York. Stevenson said he was so happy during the trip which was generally a terrible trip, he made up a fantasy poem to pass the time. The poem contains animals, people and trouble with food. Very cute.

I was very impressed by the first effort from this team, "A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers" (1981); obviously, I was not alone. The only book to have won both the Newberry and Caldecott honors for best children's writing and illustration, "Blake" bowled me over in a May 2000 review: "Like some onion-skinned 18th century English manuscript, this books has the look of an old, ambered classic. It's a highly unique poetry narrative, filled with magical excursions and inventive characters, rather like the Beatles meet Lewis Carroll." Unfortunately, I cannot muster that same enthusiasm for the 1987 "The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill," and here's why: In the first book, there's a connection between Blake's themes and concerns and Willard's book of poetry. In contrast, the inspiration for "The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill" is Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis Stevenson's steamer voyage from London to America (in 1887). There's no sense of Stevenson here, no connection to the danger and adventure of "Treasure Island," Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). Stevenson's ocean crossings resulted in several works, including the progressive and insightful essays of "In the South Seas ," but Willard's poems concern mischievous monkeys and horses on board the ship. It appears that this conceit derives from a letter Stevenson wrote home,, reporting "O, it was lovely on our stable ship." Sorry, but that's just not enough. Part of the problem is that "Blake" was so extraordinary. Structured as a series of short poetic chapters, set on "aged" paper, and with magic illustrations by the Provensons, "Blake" is a masterpiece. While Willard still has her poetic chops ""Halfway to New York we ran out of pork/and butter and biscuits and sweets,/and the cold mutton pie was in such short supply/we devoured it all in a week," some lines seem flat and slavish to the thin plot about the animals. Visually, the book is not as interesting either: The paper is yellow but without the stained look of "Blake" and the pictures don't always match the action. The work seems somehow tired; it doesn't have nearly the exuberance of "Blake." Perhaps one should expect this the second time around. With the memory of "A Visit to William Blake's Inn" still fresh, the rhymes and format seem too familiar. One could argue that, in contrast to "Blake," this is a better children's book, full of playful animals, and easier to understand. That's true to an extent, in the way that would have a broader audience. However, the earlier book never compromises, never looks back at who might be reading it, as if Willard and the Provensons knew it would find its own audience. *I reference the "Blake" book because I think it's the better work--the one I would buy as a gift, for example. Still, if not for the former book, "Ludgate Hill," would seem a worthy book for its clever rhymes, nimble animals,