The travels of a family from Maine are chronicled in the sights, smells, and sounds of their wagon journey. At first, Pa is the one with the urge to move west, a longing to see the Sierras and the prairie. But his longing gradually infects the whole family with new dreams as they experience the trail. Buffalo, wolves, Indians, other travelers, and the creak of the wagon and its contents are their constant companions . . . along with the new stars in the sky. With the new wonders also come new hardships—lack of rain, and then too much of it, the deaths of animals and newfound friends, and the giving up of precious possessions. The tears constantly mix with the hopes and dreams. But as the sun sets over the Sierras for the first time, the family knows it has reached home. Johnston (That Summer, p. 571, etc.) fills her characteristically fluid text with the sights and sounds the family was likely to encounter on their journey—things of interest to young readers. The trials and celebrations of the family can seem almost too extreme at times, with the wild swings from good to bad occurring only sentences apart. But each description feels comfortably right. Lewin’s (Big Jimmy’s Kum Kau: Chinese Take Out, 2001, etc.) stunning watercolors put the reader right on the prairie with the characters, making the experience real. His characters and scenery are infused with life and vividly portray the setting. A richly rewarding journey. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-22659-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
An inspiring story of young boy's compelling desire to read. As a boy of nine, Booker works in a salt mine from the dark of early morning to the gloom of night, hungry for a meal, but even hungrier to learn to read. Readers follow him on his quest in Malden, Virginia, where he finds inspiration in a man ``brown as me'' reading a newspaper on a street corner. An alphabet book helps, but Booker can't make the connection to words. Seeking out ``that brown face of hope'' once again, Booker gains a sense of the sounds represented by letters, and these become his deliverance. Bradby's fine first book is tautly written, with a poetic, spiritual quality in every line. The beautifully executed, luminous illustrations capture the atmosphere of an African-American community post-slavery: the drudgery of days consumed by back- breaking labor, the texture of private lives conducted by lantern- light. There is no other context or historical note about Booker T. Washington's life, leaving readers to piece together his identity. Regardless, this is an immensely satisfying, accomplished work, resonating first with longing and then with joy. (Picture book. 5- 8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-09464-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
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