MORNING GLORY MONDAY

Mama, living on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1930s with her husband and young daughter, is homesick for her native Italy. One summer day, to cheer her up, the family visits Coney Island, where the little girl wins a packet of seeds. Though the girl is disappointed in this less-than-hoped-for prize, she’s astonished to discover that when the flowers eventually grow and proliferate, Mama’s spirits bloom along with them. Soon the whole neighborhood is transformed by sky-blue bits of beauty; there are blossoms everywhere, and everyone’s mood improves. Based on a true episode when residents of a Lower East Side neighborhood dressed up their bleak homes and lives with morning glories, the tale is as fragile as a flower; this Monday will likely be forgotten by Tuesday. However, Kovalski’s muted art makes the time and place come alive, her tenement neighborhoods bustle with energy and appeal, and her characters’ faces are most expressive. (Picture book. 4-7)