This lyric poem by one of our most revered writers captures those faint glimpses of things that you see but don't quite recognize, sounds you can almost hear, smells, tastes, feelings that can't quite name. Each line of the poem and each picture in the book depicts the sensual essence of a child's day, each of which are totally typical and thoroughly unique.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
In this subtle rumination, an eminent writer and illustrator point out that many things leave traces of their passage—whether it be ripples in a pond from the frog that has jumped in, a jet’s trail across the sky, or the slanting shadows of children at day’s end. Reflecting the economy of Fox’s text, Kuskin’s pictures, in collage and opaque, thickly applied paint, depict just selected details: a few daubs of blue suspended on white simultaneously suggest both clouds and sky, for instance; and a single row of low grass and flowers serves as a wriggling snake’s backdrop. This book can be seen as an invitation to look more closely at the world, but also, though the colors are bright and the overall tone is not somber, the theme’s elegiac feel suggests that it may also bring comfort to readers who have lost a friend or family member. Readers somewhat older than the target audience will appreciate this, too. Grades 2-3. --John Peters
Review
* Every dynamic thing has left a trace, evidence of its existence. Traces illustrates this phenomenon, and encourages the development of critical and creative thinking as readers are led to specific pieces of evidence left for discernment. Readers are engaged as words and illustrations present clues. Bubbles in a lily pond provide evidence of a bullfrog, a path across the sand and ending at the sea leaves the trace of a turtle, and puffy trails of white across the sky provide clues of a jet planes journey. In addition, foxes, snakes, snails, dinosaurs, children, and wind leave traces of their existence. Extending the simple identification of the source of the "trace" to a poetic, vivid, and figurative portrayal, this book provides extensive exposure to effective use of written language. "Plump, wattled, warty, croaking is the bullfrog that left its traces in the pond." This is just one of many beautifully written descriptions complimented by simple, colorful illustrations. A delightful read, Paula Fox once again demonstrates her mastery of the vivid art of the written word. Traces is a wonderful resource that encourages quiet moments of one-on-one reading, group storytelling, and classroom study of effective writing. --Library Media Connection, Starred Review
What leaves bubbles of water and air on a lily pond? What leaves a path across the sand to the sea? What leaves shadows on the ground?...Kuskin's watercolor-and-collage illustrations brilliantly follow bubbles, tails, footprints and shadows across double-page spreads tracking clues left by the not-quite invisible passage of someone or something. A fascinating look at an overlooked part of nature. --Kirkus Reviews
What leaves bubbles of water and air on a lily pond? What leaves a path across the sand to the sea? What leaves shadows on the ground?...Kuskin's watercolor-and-collage illustrations brilliantly follow bubbles, tails, footprints and shadows across double-page spreads tracking clues left by the not-quite invisible passage of someone or something. A fascinating look at an overlooked part of nature. --Kirkus Reviews
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2.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Traces (Hardcover)
This received such marvellous reviews I hastened to buy it. This is a book adults will like because of the drawings. It is not a child's book however, attractive though it might be. It is a book a child might read once, maybe twice, even three times, but not again and again as the best loved books are. Spend your money rather on a great classic or a trip to the zoo.
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