From Publishers Weekly
Schmuel, a tailor, has been raised in a little gray town to value time for the possibilities it gives him to work. Racing alone through his life, ignoring a fantasy inspired by a girl's request to sew her a wedding dress, Schmuel labors for 41 years until a magical clock offers to turn back time for him: One stitch, the clock tells him, and you will/ unlock the dreams you've lost! Despite its promising elements and its author's expertise as a Tony Award–winning lyricist, the story fails to engage: the savor-your-time theme gives it a didactic flavor, even when the message is to enjoy your days, rather than turn them to profit. GrandPré's (
Plum) dramatically lit double-page spreads pry whimsical images from the text: clock faces fly, bubbles float loose as Schmuel scrubs a floor, and silhouetted hens form a chorus of scolds. Once the action starts, Schmuel springs to life, stitching away among a lot of digitally altered lace scraps: visual magic. Ages 4–8.
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2—This picture book has the tone of a Jewish folktale. Schmuel's life is ruled by time from the second he is born. Learning his father's trade, he becomes a tailor and works long hours, never having time to sew a white dress for a girl he once knew. Forty-one years later, he is still alone and stitching into the night when the large clock in his shop tells him to stop everything and sew the long-ago-requested dress, promising him happiness if he does. Grumbling, Schmuel discovers that as he creates the dress, time on the clock ticks backward. Was that dress the one worn by the girl in Odessa who married a young man named Schmuel? A smiling clock holds the answer. At times the rhythm of the text changes and the rhyme disappears, and the effect is a disjointed story that is difficult to read aloud. The illustrations aptly depict Schmuel as he grows from a baby to a middle-aged man. GrandPré's swirling style captures scenes of light and dark, with attention to the changing seasons and the patterns of the various fabrics in the shop, reinforcing a sense of fantasy. Although there are some nice touches, this predictable story is for larger collections only.—
Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
