Everyone Asked about You - Hardcover

Gross, Theodore

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399217274 ISBN 13: 9780399217272

Publisher: Philomel Books, 1990

Synopsis

Nora Blue's friends try to convince her to come out to play by describing all the fascinating creatures who have asked about her, including the Empress of Jupiter

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Dramatically colorful and active double-page watercolor spreads give this lively rhymed text impact. A red-haired, ebullient boy rides his bike to the pretty cottage of Nora Blue, who is pouting in an upstairs window. In his efforts to cheer her up and coax her outdoors, he tells her increasingly more fanciful tales of those who have asked about her: schoolmates, baseball teams, wild animals of land and sea, children worldwide, and finally creatures from the sky. As he talks, a thunderstorm gathers, breaks, and drifts away, reflecting Nora Blue's gradually changing mood. Scenes of the house and children alternate with exuberant depictions of the creatures inquiring about the heroine. Skeptically, she asks the boy where they all are, if they're so interested in her welfare. And, happily, when finally she comes out of the house, they are rushing up to greet her. The text has a pleasantly varied rhythm, with repetitive lines tying the sections together and precise vocabulary, which make it read aloud well. The artwork resembles modern textile designs in which one-dimensional but extremely decorative shapes, dynamic lines, and effective manipulation of colors create an exciting whole. --Patricia Pearl, First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

A somber-looking Nora Blue sits at a second-story window as her friend repeatedly entreats her to open the door. He tries to cajole her out of her solitude by telling her that, wherever he has been, "everyone" has been asking for her. He travels to school, to a baseball game and to more exotic locations, such as the top of Mt. Pike, the floor of the ocean and outer space. Along the way every creature he encounters--from the underwater tortoises to the Empress of Jupiter--does indeed inquire about Nora. But this doesn't satisfy her. Why, she asks, haven't these well-wishers come to her door? Their appearance, all at once, brings this somewhat monotonous tale to a colorful conclusion. Samton's fanciful, brilliantly hued pictures pep up Gross's rhymed text. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0399217274
• ISBN 13: 9780399217272
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32