The Leaving Morning (Orchard Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Angela Johnson (Author), David Soman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996 | Series: Orchard Paperbacks

On the leaving morning, a child watches for the moving men, has a cup of cocoa in the deli across the street, and leaves lip marks on the window of the apartment before departing for the new home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A boy tells of the last few days before his family moves to a new home in a story that "may well provide reassurance for parents and children facing a relocation," according to PW. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- The time has come for an African-American family to move from their city apartment into a new home. Johnson invokes the feelings of children as she tells in their language a simple story of the ambivalence of leaving familiar surroundings. Illustrations capture the mood of the text in depicting all the joy, sorrow, anxiety, and hurry of a moving day. Johnson conveys all this with the same tenderness as found in her Tell Me a Story, Mama (1989), Do Like Kyla (1990) , and When I Am Old with You (1990, all Orchard). It's a book that's sure to reassure children in the same situation. --Barbara Osborne Williams, Queens Borough Public Library, Jamaica, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; 1st Orchard Paperbacks Ed edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531070727
• ISBN-13: 978-0531070727
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Angela Johnson is the author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book When I Am Old with You; as well as A Sweet Smell of Roses, illustrated by Eric Velasquez; Just Like Josh Gibson, illustrated by Beth Peck; and I Dream of Trains, which was also illustrated by Loren Long. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels Heaven, Toning the Sweep, and The First Part Last. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short Text, But Says So Much, September 19, 2000

By 

Paul Martin (Waukesha, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Leaving Morning (Library Binding)

Suitable for 4-8 yrs. More authors, or college Enlish Composition courses should pay attention to this author. Angela Johsnon has a way of expressing mountains of information using few words. She has a rare gift for helping the reader to really identify, on a personal level, with the story.

The story is about a moving day for a family. That's it. But, the author tells the story in such a compelling way, that it will surely evoke a dialogue about this, or similar experiences between parents and children.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for a Move..., February 15, 2011

By 

Amy Steele "quirky mama" (Western NC, Land of the Mullets With Tails) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Leaving Morning (HBJ Treasury of Literature) (Paperback)

I purchased this book because you never know when you might move, and I rely on talks, books, and book-talks to help my older girl understand certain life situations. This book has beautiful paintings that carry over the characters' feelings about moving. The scenes are tinged with both sadness and excitement, and the prose clearly relates what happens during a move (packing, saying goodbye to friends and family), but does not get bogged down with details. At the end of the book, the family takes a moment to sit together in the apartment that they are about to leave, holding hands and snuggling. The next pic then shows the family seen from the empty apartment's window, which the younger boy in the story (the narrator) has "left lips" on (kissed goodbye); the whole family is waving goodbye as well to the old apartment. I like the fact that they had a "goodbye ritual" for their old place...it felt healing and it strengthened the family bond. (Besides, I am a big waver.) A good book to have on hand for major life changes, or just to warm the heart.