Moving Days

As he and his parents prepare to move from the country to the city, a boy shares memories about the old house they are leaving and his worries about their new home

Grade 2-4-As Tommy and his parents prepare to move from the country to a far away town, they consider their own family history and that of their house. Although Tommy mentions a best friend, Jimmy appears only on the day of the move itself, when other friends and neighbors come to help load furniture and clean. Most of the first-person narrative is devoted to Tommy's discoveries about the past, his internal musings about his feelings, and his troublesome dreams about getting lost at a fair and not knowing anyone. Unfortunately, the text is not served well by the dark-hued and hazy illustrations; they are dreamy and nostalgic. Tommy appears to be about 9 or 10 years old, and the reflective and lengthy story also indicates that the book is aimed at an older audience than many picture books about the topic. Average fare, but not as strong as Bernard Waber's Ira Says Goodbye (Houghton, 1988).
Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 6-10. Harshman shows a child connecting present to past as he helps his parents prepare to move. Without being maudlin, the first-person narrative quietly evokes the mixture of sadness, fear, and anticipation that comes with leaving the old and beginning anew. The illustrations, hazy and dreamlike, yet firmly anchored in concrete details, capture a small, close-knit family and a boy's swirling emotions. The subject matter is familiar. What sets this apart from many of the other picture books on moving is the target audience. Both art and text speak loudest to older children. Even some fourth-graders might identify with Popp's child character, Tommy (the boy could be as old as 9 or 10), and Harshman's soothing words never coddle. Stephanie Zvirin