Something for James - Hardcover

Isherwood, Shirley

4

14 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803719140 ISBN 13: 9780803719149

Publisher: Dial Books, 1996

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James and his animal friends are excited by the arrival of a mysterious brown paper parcel, the contents of which hiccups and rustles but refuses to emerge, until the gentle, patient Bear coaxes the mysterious creature out.

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From Publishers Weekly:

When something arrives in a brown paper bag one day for a boy named James, everyone is anxious to see what it contains. Despite clues to the contrary ("long soft ears and a nice round tummy"), stuffed toy Elephant and Winston the puppy suspect that it might be a "terrible fierce pouncer." Fortunately, Bear, who "was very old, and knew almost everything," and whose paw "had the comforting smell of muffins and cocoa," settles the question by coaxing the new toy out, whereupon it is warmly welcomed into James's coterie. Isherwood's fluid prose is keenly attuned to the picture book format?she makes every word count, and the outcome is a perfectly balanced, perfectly paced story. In a felicitous marriage of art and text, first-time illustrator Reed's radiant watercolors set off the tale like a Tiffany setting displays a gem, and he expertly captures Isherwood's vision of a place where the line between fantasy and reality is blurred, the sort of place occupied by Jane Hissey's Old Bear series. The cozy world that the story and the warmly lit artwork portray is one that readers will eagerly enter time and again. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A mysterious, shy creature arrives in a brown paper bag on toddler James's doorstep. It has big dark eyes and long soft ears and a nice round tummy, but it won't come out, even when it gets a little damp in the pond. The wise old stuffed bear, who has ``the comforting smell of muffins and cocoa,'' is summoned and coaxes Something out and welcomes it with a mug of warm milk. Children will have a wonderful time trying to guess what's in the bag and will hotly debate the identity of Something until it finally appears. While this gentle episode is reminiscent of the Pooh stories in the way toy animals are characters with distinct personalities and interact with the rosy-cheeked, tousle-headed James, newcomer Reed works in a style that recalls Jane Hissey's Old Bear (1986) and its successors. In his cozy watercolors, sunlight illuminates the warm textures of wood and stone as well as the lushness of an English garden. In the final pages, the entire menagerie is bedded down in James's room, washed in the silvery blue of a full moon. Sweet suspense--even sweeter reassurance. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright �1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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