The Carousel - Hardcover

Rosenberg, Liz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152008535 ISBN 13: 9780152008536

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1995

Synopsis

Believing that the horses of the carousel sleep during the winter months, two sisters are astonished to hear strange whinnying noises on a chilly February evening and venture towards the stilled carousel.

About this title

About the Authors

Author Liz Rosenberg has published award-winning books for young readers, as well as three prize-winning books of poems.

No Bio

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3?On a rainy day in February, two sisters stop by a park after school and peek into the pavilion that houses a long-stilled carousel. To their delight and amazement, the horses are whinnying and prancing around. The narrator leaps on her favorite mare and they fly off into the twilight. Her sister climbs on a zebra and they gallop off together. In response to the observation that "they're wild because they are broken," the girls race home to get their deceased mother's old red toolbox. The younger one proceeds to take the carousel machinery apart until she fixes it, just like her mother would have done. Her sibling calms the horses by playing her flute and the steeds resume their places on the carousel. Wonderfully detailed paintings done in acrylic washes with colored pencils capture the action. The soft, dark gray-blues and lavenders of the pictures are accented by warm, glowing street lights and lighted houses. The sense of wonder and delight on the girls' faces make this fanciful adventure an appealing one. A pleasing story, which, like Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express (Houghton, 1985), can be enjoyed on many different levels.?Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When two sisters take a shortcut through the park one rainy winter day at dusk, the horses on the canvas-shrouded carousel magically come to life and take them for a thrilling twilight ride, soaring up into the sky above town. Something goes awry, however?the horses go wild, and it's up to the girls, with the help of their mother's tool kit and the elder sister's flute serenade, to set things right. Throughout the poetic text, there are hints of the girls' mother's death?the use of the past tense when she's mentioned, and a lingering sadness?and by story's end readers sense that a hurdle has been crossed on their road to healing. Rosenberg's atmospheric tale is greatly enhanced by LaMarche's (The Rainbabies) singularly luminous artwork; mist all but lingers on the pages, and his superb use of light and shadow underscores the element of magic threading through the story. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-8. Fantasy blends beautifully with reality in a book that speaks to the emotions that stir in the wake of a parent's death. Rosenberg's nostalgic text is never saccharine, and LaMarche's artwork is as satisfying in recording precise physical details as it is in catching the special radiance of the story's magical goings-on. Pictures colored in wintry twilight tones follow two young girls who discover that the horses in the park's closed carousel have come alive. A broken carousel part has caused their transformation, and it takes the separate skills of each girl to bring order to the chaos--the younger with her toolbox, the older with her flute. As the girls work their earthly magic, they're each reminded of their beloved mother, whose love and inspiration is at the heart of their talents. Their return home to warm hugs from their father gives closure to this subtle story that shows the arc of memory as it gently sweeps from wistful sadness to serenity. Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152008535
• ISBN 13: 9780152008536
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Lamarche Jim
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32