Sara's City - Hardcover

Alexander, Sue

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395644836 ISBN 13: 9780395644836

Publisher: Clarion Books, 1995

Synopsis

Based on the author's own childhood, this collection of poems for very young children vividly captures the experiences of a young girl growing up in Chicago in the 1940s. Sue Alexander's brief, unrhymed vignettes and Ron Himler's exquisite watercolors follow the little girl as she eats her cinnamon-toast breakfast, carefully avoids sidewalk cracks on the way to school, sails paper boats in rainy- day puddles, rides the El downtown with Mama, and listens to her favorite radio program with Daddy before bedtime.

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 1?A nostalgia piece about growing up in 1940s Chicago, much of which will need to be explained to children. Written in blank verse, it recounts pieces of a day in the life of a young girl: walking to school in the rain (avoiding the cracks so as not to break her mother's back); sailing paper boats in a gutter; going to a busy department store with her mother; being frightened when the lights flicker off on the el train as it switches tracks; listening to "The Green Hornet" on the radio. More interesting than the minimal story is the book's layout. The word placement imitates the content of the sentences, such as the words going up the page as Sara rides up the escalator, or sitting one on top of another as she describes stacks of books. Himler's watercolor illustrations are the strength of this title as they accurately capture the ambiance of the times and the city, but it seems more for adults who remember everyday life at this time.?Helen Rosenberg, Chicago Public Library, IL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-7. "Morning / in my city / is like / a gray blanket / with / green stripes." The images are clearly childlike in this tranquil view of city life in 1940. Children may not grasp the nostalgia, but they'll savor the peaceful flow of a little girl's ordinary life--playing hide-and-seek in the bushes, visiting a big department store, spending special time with Dad. Himler's unpretentious, flowing style is a perfect match for the pensive mood of the story. Washed in tones of gold and brown, the illustrations catch the warmth and happiness of sweet, uncomplicated days gone by. Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395644836
• ISBN 13: 9780395644836
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Himler Ronald
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 31