Crescendo

Crescendo is a visual and poetic celebration (poem by Paola Quintavalle) of the transition to motherhood, featuring gorgeous watercolor illustrations from Alessandro Sanna that follow the transformation of a mother’s shape throughout her pregnancy, artfully and gracefully delineated not only by images of a mother’s profile, but by rich, sweeping scenes from nature.

The curved wingspan of a seagull in flight, the arc of a whale’s tail as she swims with her calves, the peaks of verdant, moonlit hills, among others and at last, there is an image of a mother embracing her newborn child, at once lilting and reverent?a vision of joy and rest at the culmination of an incredible inward journey. Quintavalle's poem, written as a response to Sanna’s illustrations, weaves delicately throughout the book. An ode to mothers everywhere, Crescendo is a book to share and to treasure.