The Story of May - Hardcover

Gerstein, Mordicai

4.55

95 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060222883 ISBN 13: 9780060222888

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1993

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The month of May travels to meet her father December, and meets all of her relatives, the other months of the year, on the way.

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From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2-- May is a springlike, joyous little month of a girl. She's the daughter of April, a goddesslike earth mother, and December, her absentee father whom she sets out to meet. Along the way through the calendar, she meets many other relatives, who explain to her how the months have come to be in their present order, and why her parents, because of their totally opposite natures, "were put at opposite ends of the year." All of the characters--Uncle July, Grandmother November, Aunt February and her leonine son March--are true to their seasonal nature. May makes her way back to her mother in a kind of quest for identity and family roots. The story is both light and serious, given its mythic roots and the general silliness of the stereotypical characters. The pictures, swirling in meteorological effects and full of the symbols readers associate with each month, combine fantasy colors with earth and sky tones to provide a charming tale with unusual mythological resonance. --Ruth K. MacDonald, Quinnipiac College, Hamden, CT
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The merry young month of May, scattering blossoms, loses her way and wanders into June--her Aunt June, from whom May now learns of her father's existence. ``He lives off at the other end of the year somewhere....Very far and very cold.'' May sets out to visit him, helped on her way by other relatives/months. When she finds her father December, he lovingly welcomes her and relates how, before the months were in order, he and May's mother, April, fell in love and married; but the clash of their temperaments forced them to separate. Promising to visit often, May finds her way on to April with the help of the intervening months. Gerstein's super- kinetic paintings capture the seasons' differing lights, moods, and weathers. The personifications are amusing: November is a cozy fireside granny, February a rotund figure skater with sniffles, March a harlequin swooping in on a huge kite. An enjoyable (if predictable) journey, with special meaning for children of estranged parents. (Young reader/Picture book. 5-8.) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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