From Publishers Weekly
Hest (the Baby Duck books) and Muth (
Stone Soup) eloquently capture a friendship between two neighbors in the span of a morning wait for the school bus. First grader Harry and Mr. George Baker ("He's a
hundred years old, no kidding," the boy claims), an African-American jazz drummer ("some people say he's famous"), share a special bond revealed through Harry's descriptive, first-person observations. "I really like his sweater,/ all hangy with three buttons./ It's chilly in the morning, and/ we both hug our knees./ And wait. We wait, watching/ leaves blow off trees." His youthful, sometimes lyrical narrative offers a peek into their understated relationship. "See his pants, all baggy, baggy, baggy?/ .../ There's candy in those pockets./ .../ George pops one in his mouth and I do too." But the biggest connection the two share is that they're both learning to read. Muth's soft watercolors maintain visual interest with varied perspectives of the same porch scene. In one, the pair sits similarly posed, arms crossed over knees, while another spread allows readers to peer out from the recesses of the porch, over their shoulders and identical book bags. With George's "crookedy fingers, going
tappidy on his knees," Muth fluidly unveils a montage from a bygone era; a close-up of the man's large, dark hands fades downward into a nostalgic jazz club scene. When the bus finally arrives, both friends board, hand in hand. An upbeat, hopeful tale that speaks compellingly to intergenerational friendship. Ages 5-8.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–One-hundred-year-old George has decided to learn to read, so he waits for the school bus every morning along with his young neighbor, Harry. He studies with a group of grown-ups, while Harry does the same with his classmates down the hall. George is a musician, "a drummer man, and some people say he's famous." But to Harry, he is just a friend who shares the struggle of tackling a new skill. Harry narrates the story in short articulate sentences that present an uncomplicated picture of two unlikely friends. Watercolor illustrations depict the African-American man and the Caucasian boy and their warm relationship. The soft tones reflect the pensive feeling, but also capture the playfulness of George's rhythmic drumming as he practices reading. Interesting perspectives allow readers to see the characters from different angles–from the bottom of the porch steps looking up as they smile together, or from behind, showing matching postures and book bags. The spreads are beautifully composed–leaves swirl delicately from one side to the other, George and his wife do a graceful dance across the pages–all subtly pulling the eye from left to right. This book works well as a read-alone or a read-aloud and makes a good companion to Patricia Polacco's
Thank You, Mr. Falker (Philomel, 1998).
–Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
