My Steps [Paperback]

Sally Derby (Author), Adjoa J. Burrowes (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

As any city kid knows, the front steps can be one of the best places to play. In this award-winning story, an African-American girl invites readers to share in the private playtime world just outside her front door, where each season brings new adventures. The cloth edtion was named a Best Book of 1996 by Child magazine and a Choice of the Cooperative Children's Book Center.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?A gentle story about a child's imaginative play. The front steps of a city building make a wonderful year-round playground for an African-American girl and her friends. The steps are good for hopping up and down, watching people and traffic pass by, coloring with friends, playing school, or pretending to be in a cave with a blanket draped over the stoop. Best of all, setting foot on the front steps after you've been away means you're home again. Bright cut-paper collages with watercolors show cars (that look like miniatures) and animals somewhat distorted in relation to people, but have a fresh, childlike quality. An additional slice-of-urban-life picture book.?Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-6. A child tells about her front steps, her favorite place to play. In summer, it is there that she pretends to ride horses on the low walls, creates miniature lands, makes a cave with a blanket, and eats Popsicles with her friends. In fall, she sweeps the leaves off the steps, and in winter, she shovels away the snow. The concreteness of the language and the occasional snatches of conversation bring the first-person text to life. Collages of dyed-and-painted papers add a feeling of spontaneity as well as a distinctive style. The main character is portrayed as African American, but her experiences will sound familiar to most city kids. In fact, children who don't have a flight of cracked concrete steps may end up wishing for a stoop of their own. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880000849
• ISBN-13: 978-1880000847
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,186,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've always lived in Ohio, and my life was pretty quiet until I had my first son. Things became a little noisier with a baby around, and when he was followed by four younger brothers and then a sister, the house became noisier still. Just when I was thinking that life was about to settle down, two foster sons joined us, and later, three foster daughters. They are all grown now, so the house is quiet usually -- until the grandchildren, and now a great-grandchild too, come visit! I figure that after 55 years of marriage and all those children, I have enough story ideas to keep me busy for the rest of my life. I love to hear from readers who like my books. Have fun reading!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, January 1, 2011

By 

Jana M. Willman "Jana" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Steps (Paperback)

I use this book to teach writing in my third grade class. I love the pictures and the great details. It helps my students learn to write about the details in their own lives.