Roxaboxen (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Alice McLerran (Author), Barbara Cooney (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Picture Puffins

Roxaboxen looks like nothing but rocks and sand, but it is really a place of jeweled houses and streets edged in white stones--fertile ground where a child's imagination can really soar. Reprint. K. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Striking artwork by a Caldecott Medalist complements an unusual ly evocative story about the imagi nary town created by Marian, her sisters and their friends. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- This treasure of a story is about magic--the ordinary magic that every child understands: imagination. It is also a story about a treasured place: a child's imaginary town named Roxaboxen. The rules are simple: you make them up as you go along according to the whim of the day or the personality of the residents. In Roxaboxen, "Marian was mayor, of course; that was just the way she was. Nobody minded." The rules don't even have to be consistent--as long as they make sense. Speeding was not allowed by car but "ah, if you had a horse, you could go as fast as the wind . . . All you needed for a horse was a stick and some kind of bridle." With a true child's voice, McLerran uses just the right phrase or word to make the town and its residents spring clearly off the page. Cooney's brightly colored illustrations done in her classic and recognizable style etch the town and its inhabitants indelibly on the page as well as in the mind's eye. Her soft, personable little figures give the town and its story just the right feeling. This book celebrates how children and their imaginations make fanciful things become magically real and make them last forever. Don't miss it. --Jane Marino, White Plains Pub. Lib., NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140544755
• ISBN-13: 978-0140544756
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roxaboxen...a wonderful place to imagine!, May 12, 2001

By 

Sallie Stephens "waterbugirl" (OHIO, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roxaboxen (Hardcover)

I love this book! It reminds me of summer, when mom had to beg us kids to come inside after a long day of imaginary play in our 'pine-tree village'. What fun we had creating homes, shops, schools, using rocks, pinecones and anything else we could find to make our little village like home. This book is so similar I could just eat it up! It tells the tale (a true one at that) of a group of children who create their own village with rocks and boxes (get it? Roxaboxen?). The thing I love about this book are the illustrations---simple, yet beautiful, and of course the wonderful story of how the children used their imagination and creativity to create a timeless adventure. In this day of gameboys and computer games, this book is a refreshing change of pace. My four year old loves this book as much as I do, and we can't wait to create our own Roxaboxen this summer. Buy this book for your kids...or yourself! You won't regret it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible world for kids, July 12, 2004

By 

Margaret (Wappingers Falls, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roxaboxen (Paperback)

This was my absolute favorite book as a child: I loved imagining the world of Roxaboxen as the children who 'lived' there did and I loved creating my own Roxaboxens in my world. Alice McLerran's kids taught me how to make my own places and times and adventures in my own universe. The entire book was so beautiful that I still smile whenever I see kid's books and remember my favorite or when someone asks me what my favorite book from childhood was.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember your childhood with this book, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roxaboxen (Hardcover)

Roxaboxen will allow adults to relive their childhood experiences, while allowing chilren to expand their imagination. Children will realize that their imaginary friend or place is a wonderful memory.