A joyful traipse into the past.
A magnificent timepiece witnesses a train station’s transformation into an art museum in this blithely told tale.
Chronicling the true story of the Gare d’Orsay’s renovation into the Musée d’Orsay, Fong focuses on the station’s only permanent resident: a clock. In Paris at the turn of the 20th century, the elegant clock is charged with keeping everything on schedule. At a time when few people could afford watches, “the clock [keeps] a station humming, and the world moving.” Yet as decades pass, the station is abandoned and, with it, the clock. It could easily have been reduced to rubble if people hadn’t been dedicated to saving it. “There were those who remembered the clock…. Who admired the clock for withstanding time.” Under their guidance, the clock—never anthropomorphized—is repaired, refurbished, and put on display as the train station finds new purpose as a museum. Surprisingly poetic, even philosophical, language peppers the pages: “This clock keeps a world-class art museum humming…and stops the world from moving.” The clock and station are rendered with pride and dignity; Fong captures soaring steel and glass arches and striking facades, though human figures, who diversify over time, are drawn with less personality than their surroundings. Backmatter offers additional details about the Gare d’Orsay and the clock; no bibliography or further reading is included.
A joyful traipse into the past. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781454955009
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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