Details
Synopsis
A month-by-month description in pictures and words of what goes on in a city during the year.
| Size | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 11.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 17.6 oz |
Industry Reviews
Henderson (The Little Boat) and Howard (Rosie's Fishing Trip) team up to show the "turning" of the year in a bustling metropolis. Each passing month is glowingly profiled with evocative descriptions of seasonal sights, tastes, smells and activities: "April's bursting./ The supermarket's packed/ with chocolate eggs/ and fluffy chicks/ and food for Passover/ and lines." Lively as the language is, much of the book's charm springs from the art crayony vignettes that flower amid the text and, facing the text, full-page scenes of cityscapes and city-dwellers. Howard mixes together traditional and novel subjects (e.g., trick-or-treaters on a windy sidewalk; a New Year's parade in Chinatown; men sawing branches off enormous trees at the end of the winter), also imaginatively varying his perspectives. A slightly muted palette and softened lines temper the busy quality of the compositions, giving them a gentle, almost classic feel. He and Henderson zestfully mesh an appreciation for both crowded city life and the changing natural world. Ages 6-10. (Nov.)
Lopate
PreS-Gr 4 Twelve poems, one for each month, present images of life in the city over the course of a year. Short sentences, sensory images, and active verbs will appeal even to preschoolers ("February clatters./Tin cans rattle./A bitter wind lashes at the/trash in the gutter"). Some of the details Henderson chooses are expected (the poem for May, for instance, is set in a green and flowery park), while others are fresher (in March, "...even the buses at the station/take their turn/in the giant rollers/of the big bus wash"). The setting is a contemporary urban environment, lively, colorful, and realistic. For example, December's poem mentions a homeless woman sleeping on the ground. The poems are good but the pictures add immensely to the overall effect. Howard's watercolor-and-crayon illustrations, done in soft, clear shades, often use the kind of unusual perspectives that bring the scenes to life. His work shows a multitude of characters, each of whom has a distinct individual personality. All in all, a celebration of life and an invitation for readers to really see the world around them, a message that can't be heard too often in this video age. Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Lopate
Short sentences, sensory images, and active verbs will appeal even to preschoolers ('February clatters./ Tin cans rattle./ A bitter wind lashes at the/ trash in the gutter'). . . . The setting is a contemporary urban environment, lively, colorful, and realistic. For example, December's poem mentions a homeless woman sleeping on the ground. The poems are good but the pictures add immensely to the overall effect. Howard's watercolor-and-crayon illustrations, done in soft, clear shades, often use the kind of unusual perspectives that bring the scenes to life. . . . All in all, a celebration of life and an invitation for readers to really see the world around them, a message that can't be heard too often in this video age.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Lempke
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