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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
When a young boy wearing a red hoodie takes his dog for a walk in the early evening through his neighborhood, he just might make you think of an older Peter for The Snowy Day. Certainly, the streets that he walks through are reminiscent of some of the neighborhoods around Prospect Park, Brooklyn, with private homes, apartment buildings and and a couple mom and pop stores. And when he looks at the different lighted windows he passes by, the young boy observes people, a cat, and even a raccoon behind trash cans, doing all their ordinary activities, but now seen through his eyes in a different light. Every window reveals its own story in all their truths and the illustrations, done in ink, watercolor, letterpress, and digital collage, capture those moments at dusk when the world sits in a twilight balance between day and night perfectly. It's all topped off by the warm light of the boy’s own home and his mother’s welcoming wave. This is a book kids will return to over and over again as they relate their own neighborhoods to the one.
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2022 CML Community Read picture book title. It was a lovely walk, but otherwise not too remarkable.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
On the first read, as an adult, there doesn’t appear to be much substance: just a boy walking his dog at dusk, peering in neighborhood windows as he walks by, listing things he sees. However, I can see this being a lot of fun to read with small children, having them point out what they see in other windows in the book and/or encouraging them to make up stories about the lives of the people behind those windows.
Beautiful! And if you're like me, the rhyme on the first page should end with "and peep, peep, peep"!
"At the end of the day, before the town goes to sleep, you can look out the window..."
Sadly the author isn't QUITE as much of a peeping Tom as I am but is clearly leaning that direction!
"At the end of the day, before the town goes to sleep, you can look out the window..."
Sadly the author isn't QUITE as much of a peeping Tom as I am but is clearly leaning that direction!
This beautiful picture book about a short walk around a neighborhood brought me so much joy. The amount of diversity and many invisible classes (musicians, artists, skilled labor trades, etc.).
My favorite pictures books start with a simple premise, and this is no different. The timeless and magical experience of peeking in through neighbors' windows at dusk is captured in Denos's beautiful watercolor-and-ink illustrations. The gentle rhythm of the narrative would make this a fantastic bedtime book.
