CELESTE: A Day in the Park - Hardcover

Matje, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068982100X ISBN 13: 9780689821004

Publisher: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 1999

Synopsis

While Tim, a teddy bear, and Celeste dine on her special picnic for two, a duck comes by and snatches a sandwich, yet after a grand chase and a losing battle, Celeste gives up on the fight and invites the duck to join in the festivities.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Like Arthur Yorinks's Harry and Lulu, which Matje illustrated, this appealingly drawn but awkward tale features a temperamental girl and her stuffed-animal sidekick. Celeste and her teddy bear, Tim, want to escape the traffic and towering gray buildings of their "very big, very noisy city." Celeste packs a whimsical picnic of "fresh marshmallow juice and two large vanilla cucumber sandwiches," and the two resolutely march to a placid city park. However, the day and the plot go amiss when a duck steals a sandwich, and Celeste, pursuing the duck, crashes into a hulking policeman. Tiny Celeste cowers in front of the balloon-shaped cop, who is assumed to be an enemy, not a protector ("You can fight a dishonest duck BUT you can't go up against the law"). Meanwhile Tim strong-arms the duck into good behavior and even engineers a friendship by promising the duck his favorite sandwich (chocolate and sausage, to be prepared by Celeste). The elegantly simple illustrations, aided by an agile mix of hand lettering and mechanical type, flow like animated cartoons, full of motion and feeling. With seeming effortlessness they supply this petite volume with the raffish and child-friendly wit that's missing from the text. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Celeste and her best friend, a stuffed bear named Tim, decide to go on a picnic in the park. The girl makes a special lunch of crunchy peanut butter and smashed cornflakes cookies, vanilla cucumber sandwiches, and marshmallow juice. They are enjoying their meal by the lake when a duck sneaks up to snitch a sandwich. Unwilling to share, Celeste chases after it and runs smack into Officer Brekkit. As she stands beneath the large man looking small and embarrassed, the text explains, "You can fight a dishonest duck BUT you can't go up against the LAW." Tim saves the day by convincing the duck to become their friend; the next day, they all share a picnic and have the duck's favorite food: chocolate-and-sausage sandwiches. This silly adventure is illustrated with Matje's retro-style gouache-and-watercolor cartoons, which are similar to those found in Arthur Yorinks's Harry and Lulu (Hyperion, 1999). Youngsters will be amused by the asides included with the pictures but some of the humor might be lost on them. Still, there is a lot to enjoy here, from the anthropomorphized behavior of the duck and bear to the creative picnic fare.
Susan M. Moore, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 068982100X
• ISBN 13: 9780689821004
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Matje Martin