Rush Hour [Hardcover]

Christine Loomis (Author), Mari Takabayashi (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 1996 | Age Level: 4 and up

This energetic book introduces numerous modes of transportation and captures a diverse array of people participating in the rhythm of the city workday, then reuniting with their families in the evening to eat dinner and discuss the day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This picture book follows the rhythms of a work day in New York City, from the first stirrings of the morning to the moment when parents and children are joyfully reunited in the evening. The main focus, of course, is the bustle of rush hour: the whirl of people crowding into subway cars, cars cascading over bridges and crowds swelling out of Grand Central resembles a three-ring circus. Loomis's (The Hippo Hop) concise, rhyming text evokes a cheerful diversity of people?"Out their doors/ Go moms and dads,/ Lugging tools/ Or books and pads"?and the chaotic sounds and sights of rush hour, "Rumbling,/ Roaring,/ Jiggling,/ Jumping,/ Left turn,/ Right turn,/ Backing,/ Bumping." Takabayashi's (Baby's Things) engaging watercolors are a kaleidoscope of color, pattern and activity. Presented as a multiplicity of panels, the illustrations offer seemingly inexhaustible, enjoyable details: one patchwork of pictures depicts people decorating cakes, delivering mail, teaching aerobics and more, their simple faces showing a remarkable range of expression. Rather than focusing on one individual or family, this lovely book opens young readers up to a wide, complex, but still reassuring world. It may well instill a love of the kinetic vibrancy of urban life. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3^-7. In crackling good rhyme, Loomis treats little ones to a peek at what moms and dads do when they go off to work each day. Filled with loads of good action words, the snappy text, which will have kids chanting right along, catches active parents "running, jumping / Onto trains / Subways, buses, boats, and planes" during their daytime travels. Takabayashi's wonderfully busy artwork is a fine match for the lively rhyme. Loaded with details for kids to pore over, the pictures, which often cleverly overlap on the page, catch the colorful energy of urban-and suburbanites on the move--heading out, at their jobs, then hurrying home again: "Doors swing open / Kids run fast / Moms and dads / Are home at last." A loving, comforting book for grown-ups to share with their children. Stephanie Zvirin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039569129X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395691298
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,826,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars should be a classic, September 14, 2000

By 

A. Harris (Hopkinton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rush Hour (Hardcover)

I actually first bought this book from a street book peddler in Brooklyn, NY and needless to say paid very little for it. Since then, I never hesitate to pay full price to give this book to nieces and nephews, friends etc.

What a great book! It is rhythmic enough to entertain both my 2 year old and 5 year old, and also flows well enough for an adult to actually not mind reading night after night! Amazing illustrations. I have since searched out the illustrator to see her other books.

The book while seems very New York City centric, will entertain all kids as most children have a parent(s) who go off to work and return home at night.

This book should be on every child's bookshelf.