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WHEN WE GET HOME

Name: WHEN WE GET HOME
Author: Robin Ballard
ISBN: 0-688-16168-5

by Robin Ballard ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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A common belief of childhood—that the moon is following a child—is part of the narrator’s ponderings during a night ride home. The narrator and her mother have helped a grandmother move; on the journey home the child rehearses her familiar bedtime routines in her mind: finding her father asleep on the couch in front of the TV, brushing her teeth, putting on pajamas, closing the curtains, and getting tucked in. The car is shown in snapshots, crossing bridges, rounding bends, and turning off exits, until its headlights shine a heart-shaped beam on the girl’s own house. Opposite those scenes are full-color pictures of the bedtime rituals, rendered in clean, unbroken pen-and-ink lines and washed in warm colors. The unswerving text, set in dark gray against a light gray background, conveys a sense of hush in simple declarative sentences and quietly celebrates the safety and comfort of home and family. (Picture book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-688-16168-5

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
I USED TO BE THE BABY
by Robin Ballard & illustrated by Robin Ballard

- BOOK REVIEW
MY DAY, YOUR DAY
by Robin Ballard & illustrated by Robin Ballard

- BOOK REVIEW
TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
by Robin Ballard & illustrated by Robin Ballard

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PLEASE BE QUIET!

by Mary Murphy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999

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Cheerful, flashy colors herald this book for toddlers from Murphy (Caterpillar’s Wish, p. 454, etc.). The stout pages depict the doings of a young, boldly outlined penguin, who is making a lot of noise. He (or she) bangs pots, jumps a lot, roller skates around the house, and in each instance, a parent penguin asks for quiet, until finally: “Outside, please!” The youngster waltzes down the garden path, where he meets up with his pals, a piglet and a bunny, for some hopping, rolling, and puddle-jumping. When his mother says he can return to the house, he has an idea: He can dance around in a pair of socks to muffle the noise. “Clever you!” says his mother. The simple, recognizable antics along with the flamboyant blue, yellow, and red should catch and hold onlookers, as will the closing page; the little penguin, now settled in his mother’s lap along with the baby, tells the crying child, “Please be quiet!” What goes around, comes around, in this jolly glimpse of a child’s noisy needs. (Picture book. 1-4)