Customer Reviews

A Child's Calendar

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Today, many children only know about poetry from Dr. Seuss. A Child's Calendar is a rich introduction to the imagery of poetry that has entranced all who listen since the days of wandering story tellers and shamen. In this volume, classic New England situations and events are beautifully illustrated in warm, heavily inked water colors showing beautiful brown and pink faces amid nature's wonders. Although no one would buy this volume solely for the poetry, the resulting book of illustrated verses makes for the raw material for a garden of happy memories tended by reading to your child (or grandchild) and listening while she or he learns to read to you.

Each month is featured, beginning with January, with a brief poem and two beautiful illustrations spread over two pages. The illustrations are clearly well deserving of the Caldecott Honor.

I found some of the imagery particularly meaningful, and these lines are included below:

January -- "The sun a spark/Hung thin between/The dark and dark."

February -- "And snapping, snipping/Scissors run/To cut out hearts."

March -- "The timid earth/Decides to thaw."

April -- "All things renew./All things begin."

May -- "And Daddy may/Get out his hoe/To plant tomatoes/In a row."

June -- "In golden hours,/Silver days."

July -- "Bang-bang! Ka-boom!"

August -- "The pavement wears/Popsicle stains."

September -- "The breezes taste of apple peel."

October -- "Frost bites the lawn."

November -- "The ground is hard,/As hard as stone."

December -- "We were fat penguins,/Warm and stiff."

The subjects of sun, earth, plants, animals, and change recur in almost each poem.

One of the charms of this book is that it makes the harsh weather interesting and appealing, helping a child understand the balanced nature of the year and his or her role in that balance. For someone who lives in a warm climate year round this book will seem very magical.

After you have finished enjoying the book, I suggest that you and your child partner discuss other cycles that she or he has noticed. You could talk about the daily cycle of the sun, the monthly cycle of the moon, the twice daily tides, or even three meals a day. Young people often have trouble developing a perception of context for what is going on around them. This book and your discussions can help. You will also encourage someone who may want to write some poetry. If so, why not start with January and describe what is happening where you live?

See and hear the most in the beauty around you! Capture it for others to enjoy!

Updike creates a poem and word picture that accurately and wonderfully describes each month of the year. His short, simple poems are packed full of words and imagines that conjure up seasons and holidays, emotions and activities throughout the year. Hyman's illustrations are an added bonus, as she brings each month to life through the eyes of a family and their friends. I highly recommend this one. It's beautiful.

Updike creates a poem and word picture that accurately and wonderfully describes each month of the year. His short, simple poems are packed full of words and imagines that conjure up seasons and holidays, emotions and activities throughout the year. Hyman's illustrations are an added bonus, as she brings each month to life through the eyes of a family and their friends. I highly recommend this one -- it's beautiful

I propose that we invent an entirely new category of children's literature. In my life I've had the pleasure of discovering, usually through complete accident, fabulous picture books that use poetry to convey seasons. Tasha Tudor's, "A Time To Keep" was the first of these and remains a favorite (if only because it is intricately tied into my own childhood). The second such book was Charlotte Zolotow's breathtaking, "Seasons: A Book of Poems". Words cannot convey how much I enjoyed that book. And now, lo and behold, I've found a third leg to this unlikely triumvirate. And who could have dreamed it would have sprung from the pen of writer extraordinaire John Updike? In "A Child's Calendar", Updike's 1965 poems have been given a lively update, all thanks to illustrator Trina Schart Hyman. The result is a book that truly embraces diversity, change, and how kids react to the natural ebb and flow of the seasons. It is one of the loveliest books for children I've ever had the pleasure to page through.

The book begins in January, and we meet a family of four. An interracial couple and their two sons live in the country, and sometimes the neighbor kids come by. The cold winter months freeze the earth so that, "The river is/ A frozen place/ Held still beneath/ The trees' black lace". With the arrival of spring, the family is out in the yard (with the toddler sometimes "helping" by plucking daffodils from the earth, bulbs and all) and "We still wear mittens/ Which we lose". Summer shows us various idyllic childhood scenes involving ponds to explore, roads to bike down, fireworks, and beachside adventures. Though, as Updike is quick to point out in August, "The trees are bored/With being green/ Some people leave/ The local scene". So autumn comes and school begins. There are costumes and changing leaves as, "Blue ghosts of smoke/ Float through the town". And then winter again and Christmas and a feeling of having gotten through quite an interesting year.

It is difficult not to admire the pictures in this book. Hyman has done an exquisite job. I've adored her work over the years (check out "The Fortune Tellers" by Lloyd Alexander, if you can) and this book is a great example of what she's capable of. Her watercolors capture the spirit of the outdoors as well as the comfort and coziness of staying within. I loved the pictures that accompanied January's poem. Outside the kids stare, with sleds in hand, at the small town and the momentous grey/pink sky above (as seen on the book's cover). The other picture is from inside the home. You can see where the boots, removed after stomping about outside, lay with semi-melted snow still scattered on the rug. Hyman especially gives a great deal of attention to her lighting. That way, a spring morning looks nothing like a summer evening or the winter holiday season at night. The book makes you want to pack up your things, buy a house in the middle of nowhere (possibly in Michigan), and live with your nearest and dearest with all the beauties of nature about you. It's a book that makes you yearn for a time and place you've never known.

And the poems. Ah, the poems. I don't think Mr. Updike needs me to compliment him any. He's already acquired his fair share of praise. So all I will say is that for those that love him, this book will not disappoint. For those who do not know him (or do not know him well), I'll just quote some lines of his describing November: "The stripped and shapely/ Maple grieves/ The loss of her/ Departed leaves. The ground is hard/ As hard as stone/ The year is old/ The birds are flown. And yet the world/ Nevertheless/ Displays a certain/ Loveliness - The beauty of/ The bone. Tall God/ Must see our souls/ This way, and nod".

So there we have it. One of the nicest additions to the world of seasonal poetry books (accompanied by watercolors) for children. Children will find themselves oddly soothed by the poems and pictures. Grown-ups will be mildly surprised to find themselves feeling the same way.

A friend recommended this book for my grandbaby. What a beautiful second birthday gift for my lucky little girl. Most of us are familiar with John Updike. He is a contemporary, well known author from New England, Massachusetts to be exact. John Updike has written the poetry of each month. The poetry reaches into and grabs us all but particularly the child-the rhymes and rhythm so graceful. Trina Schart Hyman has drawn the illustrations. Trina Schart Hyman was from New Hampshire, right up the road from me. She was one of the most glorious illustrators and painters. It was not until Trina's daughter married a man of color that Trina realized her illustrations were all of white people. She has rectified that and these illustrations are magnificent.

This is May in New England- John Updike has written:
"New children may
go out of doors
Without their coats
to candy stores

The apple blossoms
and the pear
may float their blossoms
through the air."

Trina Schart Hyman has drawn a Vermont General Store with a sign that says Vermont Cheeses; Maple Products, Homestead Bacon- children are shopping in the store as we can see through the open doorway, a young boy is licking his ice cream on the steps as his dog watches hoping for a falling icy piece.

The rest of the book is similar- from January through December, a poem for each month and a beautiful vivid illustration to match. What child would not love this book- I love this book! Each month shows the change of season in New England- you can almost feel the leaves crinkle and the soft snow on your eyelids.

This children's book has won a Caldecott Honor. The front cover shows two children at the top of a big hill facing a little village. It is winter and they have a sled and and look like they are ready to go down... nnn the hill. This is a keeper book, one to be read over and over and loved by the child who owns it. Highly recommended. prisrob

I love the novels of John Updike and was curious to read one of his children's books. As always, Updike has produced a book of high quality. Each month is represented in a four- or five-stanza poem and has two illustrations. What I like about Updike is his obvious love of language, and he doesn't disappoint here. My favorite line is for July, "And Tabby dozes/in a pool/ of fur she sheds/ to keep her cool." What a beautiful summation of July!

Originally written in 1965, the book was re-released in 1999 with new illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman. The pictures are stunning and capture the elements of each month. Readers of Updike know that he lives in Massachusetts, and the poems and illustrations have a decidely northeastern feel. Most highly recommended for young readers (ages 4-8 years) as well as their parents who enjoy evocative poetry!

I purchased this book for a child a few holidays ago, and before wrapping it I read every page to make sure it was appropriate. The reading transformed me. With each page I turned, I grew a little younger. The words and images peeled back the years, page after page, layer after layer. Memories rushed in of a younger self who looked at the world more intently and felt colors and images more deeply.

Reading Updike's words is like sitting on your loving grandmother's lap listening to her tales of days gone by. Gazing at the illustrations is even better--so much to see!

A week later I bought a copy for myself. Had to. I simply couldn't be without it anymore. I start each new month with a glance at what these two artists say about it, and with it comes a rush of childlike joy, appreciation and anticipation for what's to come. I've had the book for years, and never tire of it.

One caveat: If you didn't grow up in a four-season enviroment, the book might not have the same appeal for you. The images are very New England-based, specifically, Vermont and New Hampshire.

It would make a wonderful gift for any child, or adult for that matter. And I mean wonderful. The book is full of wonder.

A Child's Calendar, a Caldecott award winner, by John Updike is a specialized poetry book that includes twelve lyric poems each describing unique characteristics of each month in the year for children to gain meaning and understanding of each individual month. Eleven of the twelve poems are written in four and five stanzas. The twelfth poem is written in six stanzas. Each stanza is structured in quatrains, containing four lines with the rhyming occurring in only two of the lines. The rhyming occurs in lines two and four of each stanza. Illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman add visual images to help the children better understand some of the characteristics and activities occurring in each month.

Jan.
Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor,
And parkas pile up
Near the door.

May.
Now children may
Go out of doors,
Without their coats,
To candy stores.
Jun.
There's Little league,
Hopscotch, the creek,
And, after supper,
Hide-and-seek.
Aug.
The sprinkler twirls.
The summer wanes.
The pavement wears
Popsicle stains.
Oct.
At last, small witches,
Goblins, hags,
And pirates armed
With paper bags
Dec.
Old carols peal.
The dusk is dense.

There is a mood
Of sweet suspense.

These classic poems are newly enriched by the beautiful illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Trina Schart Hyman.
The book has the feel of a Dr. Suess book, without humor.

I have a two-year old and often check out books or her from the library. Usually we enjoy them and return them. This is one that I absolutely must purchase. This is the book that I read, the beautiful language rolling out of my mouth, the never fails to calm her and (usually) ease her into sleep. It's fun for her to get a better understanding of the seasons (through the wonderful artwork) and to listen to language. This is my first review on Amazon. I rely on reviews to make my purchases. This is a book that I felt I must recommend. Happy rocking and reading!