Worksong - Hardcover

Paulsen, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152009809 ISBN 13: 9780152009809

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1997

Synopsis

A lyrical depiction of the world of labor expresses the work ethic with sensitivity and dignity and celebrates the quiet grace of everyday life, explaining how each worker contributes to the larger human process.

About this title

About the Author

GARY PAULSEN has written nearly two hundred books for young people, including the Newbery Honor Books Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room. He divides his time between a home in New Mexico and a boat on the Pacific Ocean.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3. As they did in Tortilla Factory (Harcourt, 1995), the Paulsens have once again collaborated to celebrate the labors of common people. Gary Paulsen's brief rhyming text evokes the rhythm and sounds of a musical score as he pays homage to the "keening noises and jolting sights" of a carpenter at work on a new house or truckers on "one more nighttime run." Although the author mentions "offices filled with glowing screens," the occupations celebrated within these covers are not to be found in financial houses on Wall Street or among the corporate giants. Instead, he has looked to the streets outside the skyscrapers, into the small shops, classrooms, and factories that fill our cities and into the fields, highways, and markets that extend across the countryside. Here are the mothers and fathers of the majority of America's children. Ruth Wright Paulsen's impressionistic oil paintings extend the brief text into many worlds?an ice-cream shop, a hairdressing salon, a library, and even under the sea. Individuals from many cultures carry on their daily work with great dignity, returning home to their families at the end of the day to rest and prepare to carry on the same refrain in the morning. Although the gender depictions are fairly traditional, the soft colors, spare text, and overall design of the book provide a song of praise to the unsung heroes in every child's world and to the simple satisfaction of a job well done.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Paulsens (Woodsong, 1990, etc.) create a song--really a lyric verse--in praise of ordinary workers, a refreshing slant for a culture mired in the worship of celebrity. ``It is keening noise and jolting sights,/and houses up and trees in sun,/and trucks on one more midnight run.'' The text doesn't always name the job or worker, but refers to an aspect of it--the mentions of ``flat, clean sidewalks'' and ``towering buildings'' force readers to think about the sweepers and construction teams pictured in the illustrations. The artwork serves a dual purpose: The oil paintings gorgeously convey a tangible sense of the work environment while also ennobling its humble inhabitants. Among those shown: the woman who toils in the canteen kitchen (``making things for all to share''), workers at computer terminals (``offices filled with glowing screens''), a new mother and nurse (``gentle arms that lift and hold''). Last and surely not least, the text acknowledges why people work: ``It's mother, father in a chair,/with tired eyes and loosened hair./Resting short but loving long,/resting for the next day's song.'' (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4^-8. The Paulsens collaborate here on a picture book that celebrates the world of work. "It is keening noise and jolting sights, and hammers flashing in the light, and houses up and trees in sun, and trucks on one more nighttime run" reads the rhythmic, rhyming text. A diverse selection of workers, including blue-collar laborers, professionals at computers, soldiers, and clerks, is shown at work, then coming home at the end of the day to tuck in children and prepare for "the next day's song." Children will be fascinated by the rich oil paintings showing such interesting activities as pouring red-hot steel and deep-sea diving. Occasional stumbles in the rhythm and the ultra-traditional division of labor (women shown as nurses, librarians, and hairdressers) are the downsides of this very handsome, otherwise engaging book. ?? Susan Dove Lempke<^P>The Easy Reading column appears quarterly. Grade ranges encompass both reading and interest levels, and, when appropriate, the reviews themselves address any unusual aspects--sentence structure, vocabulary, complex concepts, nontraditional punctuation--necessary to help selectors make purchase decisions.??

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152009809
• ISBN 13: 9780152009809
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Paulsen Ruth Wright
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32