Willy and May - Hardcover

Schachner, Judy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525479414 ISBN 13: 9780525479413

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2008

Synopsis

You know Judy Schachner as the creator of the wildly popular Skippyjon Jones series. Dutton is proud to reintroduce her first picture book with a shiny new jacket. This is the story of a favorite aunt and her amazing canary named Willy. When a terrible storm threatens Aunt May’s annual holiday visit, she gets a little help from a merry traveler whose sleigh can brave the wintry weather. This lovingly told story is about fantasies fulfilled, with some Christmas magic mixed in.

About this title

About the Author:

Judy Schachner lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

From Booklist:

Ages 4^-8. A little girl tells of her beloved, eccentric great-aunt May, whom she visits each year during the summer and at Christmas. Together with May's pet bird, Willy, they bake pies (Willy dances on the soft dough), swim (Willy floats on May's hat), sing after supper (Willy spins on the Victrola record), and decorate the Christmas tree (Willy contributes dust bunnies and lost bobby pins). When apart, they write affectionate letters. One summer, the girl's mother falls ill, and the girl cannot visit May. The following Christmas, May promises to come, but a bad snowstorm blocks the roads and stops the trains. The child's distress and May's solution will make perfect sense to any child who has missed a loved one at Christmas. The lively antics of Willy and May give this picture book an aura of happiness that makes the sadness more poignant when it comes. Like Steven Kellogg's Best Friends (1986), this picture book concerns not only the joy, but also the pain that children feel and the way that it engulfs them. Full of lively details, the line-and-watercolor illustrations reflect the humor and the beguiling quality of the story itself. Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0525479414
• ISBN 13: 9780525479413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Schachner Judy