Loop the Loop

Dugan, Barbara

ISBN 10: 0688096484 ISBN 13: 9780688096489

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1991

Synopsis

A little girl develops a special friendship with a spunky old woman who travels in a wheelchair and performs fabulous yo-yo tricks.

About this title

About the Author

Barbara Dugan was born in Wayzata, Minnesota, and now lives there with her husband and two sons. She received her B.A. degree from Gustavus Adolphus College, and she has worked as a registered nurse in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In Her Own Words...

"I was born and raised in Wayzata, Minnesota. The neighborhood where I grew up was full of kids and trees and middle-class homes. As a child I roamed my neighborhood as a cowgirl, a gas-station attendant, a beauty operator, a spy. By the age of nine the Dairy Queen beckoned. I must go there on my bike. The railroad track stretched endlessly, and there was a big lake to explore. Who could stay home?

"When I was at home, I spent a lot of time drawing. No other activity made me feel quite so good. While drawing, I often held a conversation inside my head. Then the picture became a story; the people on paper had a life.

"During my elementary years I attended a local Catholic school that went through the eighth grade. Most of my teachers were nuns who taught everything from the fine points of the English language to the necessity of carrying a handkerchief. The sisters inculcated a strong sense of social responsibility: We sang at hospitals, wrote letters to servicemen, earned money for the poor. Dare I choose a frivolous future occupation? Certainly not.

"After graduating from high school, I chose Nursing as my college major. My family was surprised, as I had always been "the squeamish one." My mother was grateful for my decision because she had feared I would become an artist, run off to Greenwich Village, and marry a kook.

"As it turned out, I married my high school sweetheart (no kook) and discovered I liked working as a nurse. Medicine fascinated me and so did the very sick babies I looked after in Neonatal Intensive Care. Still, what I wanted to do most of all was write books for children. So after five years I left my job as a nurse and pursued my desire to become a writer. In 1989 I sold my first story, Loop the Loop, to Greenwillow Books.

"The pictures from my childhood are inside me now. But the characters are just as alive as they were then. For me, storytelling is caring about what goes on in all of our lives, the whole human drama. I love writing and look forward to telling many more tales."

From Publishers Weekly

This book is probably the best intergenerational story since The Canada Geese Quilt (Cobblehill, 1989). Written with simplicity, utter lack of sentimentality and great good humor, it tells how young Anne befriends a senior citizen in the park--who, it turns out, does terrific yo-yo tricks and says of herself, "I'm magnificent and I know it!" Upbeat Mrs. Simpson invites Anne and her mother to tea and tells the girl she may jump on the chairs if she likes--"no one uses them anyway." When Mrs. Simpson later falls in an accident and must move to a nursing home, Anne maintains their friendship, smuggling in a cat for her friend to hug. Dugan's debut book tells a marvelously funny and affectionate story without a single false note. Stevenson's illustrations, as usual, are lively, apt and appealing; his drawings have just the right bite for the saucy Mrs. Simpson. Though somewhat long for the traditional picture-book format, this will make an excellent read-aloud. Alternately uproarious and touching--Mrs. Simpson's bursts of song are particularly hilarious--the story presents a subtle message that may spark discussions on aging; or, children can simply enjoy this book for the sheer fun of it. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688096484
• ISBN 13: 9780688096489
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Stevenson James
• Number of pages: 1