The Milkman [Hardcover]

Carol Foskett Cordsen (Author), Douglas B. Jones (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2005 | Age Level: 1 and up

Milkman jacket. Milkman hat. Cranky pickup. Cranky cat. Milk truck waiting. Loading fast. Ice cream. Milk. Eggs. Cat in last. Musical verse accompanies a milkman and his cranky kitty as they make their morning rounds. The milkman knows his hometown: he knows who needs ice cream for a birthday party, who just broke a leg, who has a new baby. He even helps to return a lost dog that’s hiding along his route to a little girl name Caroline. This pitch-perfect, retro read-aloud’s gentle sensibility is ideally matched with beautiful art that powerfully evokes an era of classic illustration.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2-A charming book that harks back to the era of milk home delivery. Mr. Plimpton rolls out of bed at 3:30 A. M. and is off with his cat to deliver the dairy products before the sun rises in this prairie town. Many pages feature missing-dog posters from Caroline, but astute readers will notice that the dog is not missing at all, but lurks in many pictures as the milkman makes his rounds. Cordsen doesn't waste a word in the punchy rhyming phrases that are gently packed with observation and detail: "First of morning, cold and dark./Rooster crowing. Meadowlark./Moon above the mountaintops./Loud alarm clock. Snoring stops." Jones's cheerful pictures pay homage to classic illustrators such as Lois Lenski and Robert McCloskey, who used soft lines and shading to such narrative advantage. Warm colors evoke the serenity of deep-blue, early-morning hours and gradually lighten to the pinks and oranges of dawn as the milkman finishes his route, captures and returns the lost dog to young Caroline, and joins his family at 7:30. This highly re-readable book reminds children of the joy of doing a job one loves and the delights of the early-morning hours. It may also invite them to reminisce with their great-grandparents about "the olden days" and what other community jobs have vanished from the current scene.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. Out of bed long before sunrise, Mr. Plimpton, the lanky milkman, climbs into his pickup, drives to the dairy farm, and begins his morning rounds. A community helper in every sense, Mr. Plimpton does more than deliver milk, eggs, and ice cream. He leaves a "Get Well" card for one customer and a toy truck for another with a new baby. Signs about Caroline's lost dog adorn lampposts; Mr. Plimpton finds the pup and returns it to her in an empty milk crate. By the end of the story, any number of children and their parents will want to move (traveling back in time 50 or 60 years) into Mr. Plimpton's neighborhood, where the pace is slow, the cars are vintage, and even the sun has a smile on its face. Cordsen tells the story in laconic phrases that read aloud well, but this picture book's most distinctive feature is its appealing, retro artwork. Jones, who illustrated Madam President (2004), offers a friendly fellow as hero, who looks like a relative of the French Tintin. The simple story is illustrated with a series of pleasing compositions executed in shaded pencil and tinted in distinctive colors, from slate blue in the night sky to the peach glow of morning. A very pleasing delivery. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (June 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525472088
• ISBN-13: 978-0525472087
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,468,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Pleasure, September 18, 2011

By 

Truth Seeker (Port Orchard, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Milkman (Hardcover)

This book is one of my very favorite. The artwork is softly detailed revealing a simpler time unknown to our grandchildren. The lyrical verse holds our attention as we catch a glimpse of the man who not only delivers the milk found on our doorstep every morning, but actually is a cohesive part of our sense of community. This is truly a forever book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous, August 26, 2011

By 

CharlynnP - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Milkman (Hardcover)

My kids adore this book!! the pacing is good the story is positive so I would strongly recommend it! thanks!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and fun, May 11, 2010

By 

Word Sorceress "wordsorceress" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Milkman (Mass Market Paperback)

At first I was put off by the short sentences when reading this to my son, but by the end of the book I realized that they added to the general sense of calm, unhurried life that the book portrays. On the second read, I started to notice the dog in the background of most pages--I love the subtlety of the art in that respect. It's a beautiful book, literally and figuratively, and my 3-year-old loves it. We've renewed it from the library a few times now and will probably buy a copy to keep.