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Title: A Child's Calendar by John Updike, Trina Schart Hyman, 2000) A Child's Calendar (Caldecott Honor Book ISBN: 0-8234-1445-0 Publisher: Holiday House Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: School & Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Terrific Pictures & Poetry
Comment: I love the novels of John Updike and was curious to read one of his children's books. As always, Updike has produced a book of high quality. Each month is represented in a four- or five-stanza poem and has two illustrations. What I like about Updike is his obvious love of language, and he doesn't disappoint here. My favorite line is for July, "And Tabby dozes/in a pool/ of fur she sheds/ to keep her cool." What a beautiful summation of July!
Originally written in 1965, the book was re-released in 1999 with new illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman. The pictures are stunning and capture the elements of each month. Readers of Updike know that he lives in Massachusetts, and the poems and illustrations have a decidely northeastern feel. Most highly recommended for young readers (ages 4-8 years) as well as their parents who enjoy evocative poetry!
Rating: 5
Summary: A Vivid, Visual Introduction to Poetic Imagery
Comment: Today, many children only know about poetry from Dr. Seuss. A Child's Calendar is a rich introduction to the imagery of poetry that has entranced all who listen since the days of wandering story tellers and shamen. In this volume, classic New England situations and events are beautifully illustrated in warm, heavily inked water colors showing beautiful brown and pink faces amid nature's wonders. Although no one would buy this volume solely for the poetry, the resulting book of illustrated verses makes for the raw material for a garden of happy memories tended by reading to your child (or grandchild) and listening while she or he learns to read to you.
Each month is featured, beginning with January, with a brief poem and two beautiful illustrations spread over two pages. The illustrations are clearly well deserving of the Caldecott Honor.
I found some of the imagery particularly meaningful, and these lines are included below:
January -- "The sun a spark/Hung thin between/The dark and dark."
February -- "And snapping, snipping/Scissors run/To cut out hearts."
March -- "The timid earth/Decides to thaw."
April -- "All things renew./All things begin."
May -- "And Daddy may/Get out his hoe/To plant tomatoes/In a row."
June -- "In golden hours,/Silver days."
July -- "Bang-bang! Ka-boom!"
August -- "The pavement wears/Popsicle stains."
September -- "The breezes taste of apple peel."
October -- "Frost bites the lawn."
November -- "The ground is hard,/As hard as stone."
December -- "We were fat penguins,/Warm and stiff."
The subjects of sun, earth, plants, animals, and change recur in almost each poem.
One of the charms of this book is that it makes the harsh weather interesting and appealing, helping a child understand the balanced nature of the year and his or her role in that balance. For someone who lives in a warm climate year round this book will seem very magical.
After you have finished enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child partner discuss other cycles that she or he has noticed. You could talk about the daily cycle of the sun, the monthly cycle of the moon, the twice daily tides, or even three meals a day. Young people often have trouble developing a perception of context for what is going on around them. This book and your discussions can help. You will also encourage someone who may want to write some poetry. If so, why not start with January and describe what is happening where you live?
See and hear the most in the beauty around you! Capture it for others to enjoy!
Rating: 2
Summary: A year to remember
Comment: The pictures in this book are great fun--Trina Schart Hyman skillfully captures the atmosphere of each season with a complexity of familiar objects, including the small details that always make her work a joy to wander into. The poetry, however, was not as good as I had expected. The poems lacked internal unity, resembling a list of separate events that never transitioned well enough into each other to evoke the desired image (of that particular month). There were occasional gems--phrases that stood out like holidays in an otherwise unspectacular "year." For example, "January" begins with these lines:
"The days are short,/ The sun a spark/ Hung thin between/ The dark and dark."
And the first two stanzas of "June":
"The sun is rich/ And gladly pays/ In golden hours,/ Silver days,/
And long green weeks/ That never end./ School's out. The time/ Is ours to spend."
Among several other noteworthy passages, my favorite of all is this one from "March":
"The mud smells happy/ On our shoes."
Read it for the gems, not for a unified sense of the season, and you'll be rewarded. But then again, the pictures are reward enough!
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Title: Snow by Uri Shulevitz ISBN: 0374370923 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 15 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really Angry... (Caldecott Honor Books, 2000) by Molly Garrett Bang ISBN: 0590189794 Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: March, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: 2004 Celebrating Children's Books Calendar ISBN: 1568901305 Publisher: Peaceable Kingdom Press Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Winter Poems by Barbara Rogasky, Trina Schart Hyman ISBN: 059042873X Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Snowflake Bentley by Mary Azarian, Jacqueline Briggs Martin ISBN: 0395861624 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 28 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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