Messenger, Messenger - Hardcover

Burleigh, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689821034 ISBN 13: 9780689821035

Publisher: Atheneum, 2000

Synopsis

Young readers can follow Calvin Curbhopper, a bike messenger, as he spins through revolving doors, rushes through tunnels, and greets his messenger friends, in a fast-paced story filled with rhythmic text and energetic illustrations.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Burleigh is the author of several children's books, including A Man Named Thoreau and Block Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic, both published by Atheneum. Formerly a producer of audiovisual educational materials, Mr. Burleigh now works full-time as a writer and artist. He is also an avid cyclist -- though only for fun! His knowledge about the worklife of bike messengers comes from a close friend who spent many years braving the traffic and the changing weather in downtown Chicago. The material and vision in Messenger, Messenger is thus derived from many hours of interviews and conversations with a person well aware of that very special world.

From Publishers Weekly:

Burleigh (Flight: The Story of Charles Lindbergh) hits the road with this lively look at a busy day in the life of a big-city bicycle messenger. Just after sunup, Calvin Curbhopper leaves his studio apartment with his yellow bike hoisted onto his shoulder ("Sun, wind, rain, snow,/ Messenger, messenger, gotta go"). By eight a.m., he's made his first delivery and embarked on a frenzied routine of carrying urgent business packages through traffic, tunnels, parking lots and dangerous neighborhoods, even eating his lunch on two wheels. He doesn't slow down until after nightfall, when he rides home, away from the glittering lights ("And then at last it's time to go,/ Calvin Curbhopper, takin' it slow"). The author's spare, rhyming text pedals along at the protagonist's swift pace, giving readers a taste of the messenger's special street rhythms. Root's (Two Cool Cows) dynamic gouaches of a bustling city are further energized by bold patches of sunny yellow paint bathing office buildings, taxicabs and trees. And Calvin's sleek red leggings and helmet are easy to spot as he zags and weaves through crowds of people and clusters of high rises. Ages 5-7. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0689821034
• ISBN 13: 9780689821035
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Root Barry