Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
Starred review: Publishers Weekly, September 19, 2011
"Krommes creates spiral-packed nature scenes that have a timeless, classic beauty. Whether she's portraying a tiny curled eastern chipmunk or a classic funnel tornado, it's clear that nature isn't the only master at work."
Starred review: Kirkus, September 15, 2011
"Exquisitely simple and memorable."
Starred review: School Library Journal, October 2011
"Another first-rate volume from the author and illustrator of Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton Harcourt, 2006)."
Starred review: Booklist, September 1, 2011
"The striking scratchboard illustrations use black lines, shapes, and crosshatched shading on white backgrounds to create strong compositions, while watercolor washes add subtle warmth and brilliance."
Starred review: Horn Book Magazine, September/October 2011
"From the endpapers that gather together all the spirals depicted to the spiraling text on the title page verso, this book is elegantly constructed, and as poetry, picture book, or nonfiction, a success in every way."
The House in the Night
Starred review: Kirkus, April 1, 2008
"Krommes's breathtaking scratchboard illustrations, in black and white with accents of yellow and gold, embody and enhance the text's message that light and dark, like comfort and mystery, are not mutually exclusive, but integral parts of each other."
Starred review: Booklist, April 15, 2008
"A beautiful piece of bookmaking that will delight both parents and children."
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow
Starred review: The Horn Book magazine, Sept./Oct. 2006
"Krommes's scratchboard illustrations are splendid though stylized and decorative, they reflect such precise observation that each species is easily recognizable. An elegantly conceived, beautifully integrated volume."
Starred review: Kirkus, Aug. 3, 2006
"A top-drawer blend of art and science."
Starred review: School Library Journal, Oct. 2006
"This book is a handsome and versatile compendium, melding art, poetry, and natural history."
The Hidden Folk — Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies and Other Secret Beings
Starred review: School Library Journal, Dec. 2004
"Handsome scratchboard illustrations decorate the pages with stylized figures and landscapes."
Kirkus Review, July 15, 2004
"These small, delightful tales are fabulously illustrated by Krommes's scratchboard pictures. She fills the linear patterns inherent in scratchboard design with rich and brilliant color, at once cozy and majestic."
The Sun in Me — Poems About the Planet
School Library Journal, March 2003
"Krommes's extraordinary scratchboard-and-watercolor illustrations extend the mood of each poem. A book to warm the soul of any poetry lover."
Publishers Weekly, March 2003
"Created first on scratchboard, then photocopied and brushed with watercolors, Krommes's art fairly bursts from the pages."
Kirkus Reviews, Feb. 2003
"The illustrations are gorgeous..."
The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called Fish
Starred review: The Five Owls, March/April 2001
"The illustrations by Beth Krommes are stunning scratchboard art that capture the spirit of the Inupiaq culture."
The New York Times Book Review, April 15, 2001
"Beth Krommes's exquisite scratchboard art work has the textured look of old woodcuts, and is rendered in a subtle, naturalistic palette of black and white, shaded with hues of ochre and soft moss green.
Grandmother Winter
Starred review: The Five Owls, Sept./Oct. 1999
"Like the folktales that inspired this simple nature fable, the reader is left with a sense of the rightness of things, the circle of life returning. Winter is blessed--as are we, the readers."
The Bulletin, Oct. 1999
"At home, at school, or at the nature center, with or without hot chocolate, this is a warm, satisfying read."
Kirkus Reviews, Sept. 1, 1999
"The text's quiet rhythms find perfect resonance in the crisp, idyllic colored scratchboard country scenes."
