Customer Reviews

Tuesday

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

We've all heard the stories of the skies, for whatever reason, raining frogs on innocent town travelers. This natural occurrence of the wild is one of the great weirdnesses of life. So how much odder is it, really, to consider frogs flying? They have all the self-possession required of such a task. Frogs are a uniquely calm species. Confident even. In Dave Wiesner's essentially wordless book "Tuesday", amphibian folk are given the unexplained power of floatation. In his tale, Wiesner considers what exactly frogs would do with the gift of flying if it was granted them.

One of the best pictures in this book is on one of the first pages. There, a turtle cowers into its shell as black eyed pupil-less frogs rise on their lily pads out of the water. The frogs descend, so to speak, on a nearby suburb, and proceed to wreak some minor havok. They disturb a man pausing to eat a late night sandwich. They disturb laundry and enter old ladies' homes to watch a little telly. And they take a great amount of pleasure in scaring a dog that would undoubtedly eat them if it had the chance. As the book ends, the frogs are relieved of their otherworldly powers and hop back to the swamps, leaving only their lily pads behind them. The next Tuesday, at the same time, we're given a hint of how a more porcine animal will handle flight.

Wiesner is a genius at the visual gag. His illustrations are simple watercolors, well-detailed and in-depth. Wiesner knows when to give an animal human expressions and when to leave it looking particularly froggy. He gets every single one of those frogs' spots down , and can manipulate his illustrations in such a way that you never doubt for a moment the ridiculous things you're seeing. To top it all off, the man's a master at conveying light. I'm particularly attached to a scene of flying frogs watching t.v., a wary cat crouching in the background. The old lady asleep in the chair is wearing glasses that are reflecting the light of the television perfectly. On top of that, this is exactly what a room lit only by a single screen looks like. Wiesner's details are marvelous. Make sure to notice the frog appreciatively eyeing the old lady's painting of the forest.

There aren't that many wordless picture books out there these days though Wiesner has made a name for himself by specializing in this area. After reading "Tuesday", you can understand why he deserves this honor. Both witty and perverse, this author/illustrator lets you see into worlds you never could have imagined existed before he came up with them. You'll be thankful that he did.

In the inside of the cover, Wiesner claims these events actually happened one Tuesday and... "all those in doubt are reminded that there is always another Tuesday." Beginning at 8:00pm, we see a three-part picture of a pond that changes perspective to focus on an alarmed turtle. Frogs on lilypads have taken flight and begin to chase after birds, intimidate a dog and confuse a man eating midnight snack. As morning approaches, the frogs return to their pond, leaving their lilypads and the curious detectives behind. The story ends with the words, "next Tuesday" and the shadow of a flying pig.

I've used this book in primary classrooms. It is a very cute story with only a few words. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for children to tell or write their own words. This enables students who cannot read yet to engage in a literate activity.

Why 5 stars?:
This book tells a cute fantasy story with very few words. It lends itself to having children make up their own text, which will support their emerging literacy skills. The illustrations are incredibly lifelike and it is no wonder it won a Caldecott.

Leaping lizards! No, it's flying frogs! One evening frogs begin to fly and experience the nighttime from a different perspective. Caught up in the adventure, the frogs startle people and chase animals until their power to fly disappears in the morning.

Wiesner's extraordinary illustrations tell a story which words could not do justice. He develops the tale of the frogs in detail through pictures.

Upon reading Tuesday, it will likely become one of your favorite books, whether you are a child or an adult.

The richly hued and elaborately detailed watercolor illustrations by David Wiesner effectively serve the dual purpose of being the main vehicle for the story, and captivating and entertaining the reader with humorous vignettes. Tuesday is a fanciful story about the mischief that occurs one Tuesday night when frogs get an unexpected surprise as they discover the ability to float in the air on their lily pads.

This sturdy hardcover edition doesn't even contain as many words as the number of double-page illustrations that Wiesner uses to tell his tale. The story begins before the title page with three illustrations set in panels separated and framed by white space, giving it the feel of a graphic novel. Wiesner continues to use graphic novel-like panels to tell the story, occasionally giving the reader a close-up view of the action with a picture-in-picture effect.

The tranquility and realism of Wiesner's rural, small town backgrounds makes the spectacle of flying frogs, and the mischief they make, particularly humorous. Wiesner is very careful in his use of color to indicate the passage of time, a technique that is especially important when the text consists primarily of infrequent updates on the time-of-day.

Although some adult readers may be uncomfortable with the lack of text in this story, the whimsical details of the illustrations could inspire some imaginative conversation about what's happening on each page. The pre-reader will have ample opportunity to interact with this story by explaining what they see in the illustrations. This book is recommended for ages 2 - 6.

I discovered this classic over a decade ago when working on my Master's. One of my required classes was a course in children's literature and it turned out to be my favorite. Having long been an avid reader, I was reintroduced to forgotten pleasures and presented with new (at that time) works that were totally fascinating.

"Tuesday" is in the latter category. It is short on prose but makes up for it with engrossing illustrations. The minimum of words allows the "reader" to create a different script with each visit.

My three-year-old niece "eats" the book up every time that either her mom, her grandfather, or even her dotting uncle takes a shine to pull it off the shelf and share it with her. Our respective interpretations of the pictures are limitless, making this a book that will live long after others have faded into obscurity.

Even the book's end allows the child to ponder the events of "Wednesday" and even hypothesize about the events of subsequent days.

Any book that plays on a child's natural tendency to dream is a winner.

This book is a wonderful stimulus for a kid's imagination. My niece, on her 3rd birthday, kept staring at the many pictures over and over, and totally loved this wondeful book. She now has an incredible love of frogs and toads. This is an excellent book!

David Wiesner's, almost wordless, book, "Tuesday," gives the reader a vivid story about a group of frogs who take their lily pads for a ride. Their lily pads fly through the air and through the neighborhood. The frogs' adventure ends when the sun begins to rise. However, the next Tuesday, another animal gets to take a similar adventure.

In the book, "Tuesday," David Wiesner uses watercolor on Arches paper for the illustrations. The illustrator uses dark colors to represent the time of night in this story. The dark colors also give the viewer a sense of mystery as they flip through the pages. However, the illustrator also uses light colors to represent the light from a house, the glow from a television set or the time of day. David Wiesner uses line to show the action of the frogs, by guiding the viewers' eye through the frogs' adventure on their lily pads. Wiesner's choice to make the frogs in the book, "Tuesday," makes the frogs seem friendly and happy.
My favorite aspect of the illustration was that color. The light and dark differences found throughout the book made the story seem very real, even though the plot is very, "magical." The use of blues and grays make the frogs flying through the air seem mysterious. While the fluorescent lights of the kitchen give a very drastic change to the frogs flying in the night outside. I also think that it was very cute for the frog to be waving at the man in the kitchen. I think that is a minor detail that a child will most likely pick up on and appreciate.
The lighting of the television room was another favorite for me. I like how the artist let the glow of the television shadow the frogs and the old woman. I enjoyed the fact that the frogs made themselves at home with the remote control and the cat looking on, in the background.
I think this is a book that a child would definitely enjoy to, "read," especially since they do not have to read. The child is free to let their imagination do the storytelling.

TUESDAY, by David Wiesner

Book Review

Who will be next? Weisner uses no words, which allows readers to develop their own opinions about what exactly is happening. The book is a vivid display of color and detail painted in watercolor. Both children and adults can experience fun and amazement by reading this picture book. As dusk becomes night, something strange happens to animals in this particular town. The story opens and frogs begin to float above their pond, perched upon their lily pads, like genies on flying carpets. As the frogs rise out of the water, they fly in a flock, raiding the town while watchful eyes are asleep. The amphibious creatures fly through linen hanging out to dry and an elderly woman's living room while she is asleep. Then something strange happens to them at dawn. They can no longer soar above and around the town and are reduced to hopping back to their pond without the aid of flight. The following night, another animal is able to fly and see the town in their own new light, once darkness falls. by Matthew Ellenberg

We've enjoyed this book because it does so well at telling the story without words. The story is very fun to walk a child through because there is so much detail in the pcitures, each reading is different. For example, the look on the frogs' faces is one of sly amusement. Our daughter really laughed at the picture of the frog using the TV remote control.

TUESDAY, by David Wiesner

Book Review

Who will be next? Weisner uses no words, which allows readers to develop their own opinions about what exactly is happening. The book is a vivid display of color and detail painted in watercolor. Both children and adults can experience fun and amazement by reading this picture book. As dusk becomes night, something strange happens to animals in this particular town. The story opens and frogs begin to float above their pond, perched upon their lily pads, like genies on flying carpets. As the frogs rise out of the water, they fly in a flock, raiding the town while watchful eyes are asleep. The amphibious creatures fly through linen hanging out to dry and an elderly woman's living room while she is asleep. Then something strange happens to them at dawn. They can no longer soar above and around the town and are reduced to hopping back to their pond without the aid of flight. The following night, another animal is able to fly and see the town in their own new light, once darkness falls.