How Do You Know - Hardcover

Trotter, Deborah W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618463437 ISBN 13: 9780618463435

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2006

Synopsis

While walking with her mother on the farm one foggy morning, Polly learns that things are still there even though the fog hides them, in this charming picture book, filled with watercolor illustrations, that celebrates a child's perception of the world.

About this title

About the Authors

Julie Downing has written and/or illustrated over 30 picture books. For Clarion, she has illustrated The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park, among others. Her books have received a Parents’ Choice Award and a New York Public Library Best Books Award. She lives in San Francisco, California. For more information visit www.juliedowning.com.

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Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 2–In this quiet picture book, Polly experiences a foggy day for the first time. Where did everything go? she asks. Mother explains that everything is still there; it's just hidden by the damp air. How do you know...? asks Polly. I just do, replies Mama. This short exchange becomes a refrain throughout as mother and daughter go outside to look for the swing, the duck pond, and the barn. The fog is a sort of metaphor for faith. At night, when Mama tucks the child into bed and says I love you, the child answers, I know. This time, the roles are reversed: Mama asks, How do you know? and Polly replies, I just do. The story, though comforting, is predictable. The realistic pictures, rendered in soft watercolors, are lovely. Each spread shows part of the scene in focus while the rest is muted in white and gray shadows. Often, Polly, her mother, and their dog are defined, while the house, the scarecrow, or the distant trees are barely visible. One stunning illustration has a close-up of a dew-covered spider web as its focal point, while the main characters are obscured behind the mist rising off the pond. If you already own enough warm and fuzzy I love you books, you won't need this title. But if you want a picture book about fog–and there are not many out there–this one will do nicely.–Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

There have been many books about children getting their first look at snow. In this one, a young girl, Polly, looks out the window on a foggy day and asks, "Where did everything go?" Polly and her mother head outside to explore a cold, misty world in which familiar landmarks seem to have disappeared. Two-page spreads follow mother and child as they rediscover Polly's swing, the pond, and the barn. Polly asks her mother how she knows something is still there if it can't be seen: "I just know," Mama reiterates. And that night, when her mother tucks Polly into bed and tells her, "I love you," the child answers, "I know." This quiet book does a nice job of explaining a bit of natural phenomenon and then linking it to emotions. The artwork, sprayed lightly with gray, is soft edged and plain. Facial expressions are sometimes stiff, but the mood of exploration and love sustains the story. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618463437
• ISBN 13: 9780618463435
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Downing Julie
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32