Waiting for the Evening Star (Puffin Pied Piper) [Paperback]

Rosemary Wells (Author), Susan Jeffers (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Puffin Pied Piper

On the Vermont farm where young Berty lives, the year turns like a slow wheel, and new discoveries and old traditions grace each season. There is always time to explore, to watch the men cut ice on the pond, to savor Mama's hot cider, and to watch the stars come out. Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers vividly evoke a time gone by in this celebration of the American family.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A series of first-person vignettes revolving around the seasons, introducing two brothers on a Vermont farm in the early part of this century. It's the commonplace events that young Berty holds in his heart-his mother pouring "hot new syrup, clear as a cat's eye, over plates of fresh snow," or sitting with his older brother watching trains go past. These activities are all shadowed by the fact that Luke wants to explore the world. The ending shows him leaving on a train, headed for France and the war. These nostalgic recollections are rendered in prose filled with pictorial images, but they are filtered by an adult eye. The repeated references to time as a concrete object- first a wheel, then an arrow-is also an adult concept. Jeffers's illustrations (watercolor, ink, and dyes) are appropriately atmospheric. They are filled with the flora and fauna of Vermont, solid farm people, and dramatic trains slicing through the countryside. A lovely book for adults to read to children before sharing memories of their own childhood.
Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

With a well-honed narrative and expansive, beautifully detailed illustrations in Jeffers's signature crosshatch and watercolor, an evocation of Vermont country life pre-WW I. Berty watches the men cut ice to ship to Boston; shares syrup on snow; helps Grandmother start seeds indoors in early spring (transplanted carrots and peas in a book listing two farm museums as resources stretches credibility, but never mind); and listens to older brother Luke's dreams of the larger world as trains steam by. It all ends with Luke's departure, in 1917, for the Navy, and Berty's new realization of inexorable change through the passage of time--and with a wish, on a star, for his brother. There's some poetic license here--hunting dandelions in the woods, red autumn foliage in early September--but, overall, the details, from milk can to parlor stove, are authentic and meticulously rendered, while the era's comfortable, provincial security is nicely conveyed. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140562834
• ISBN-13: 978-0140562835
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,894,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in New York City, Rosemary Wells grew up in a house "filled with books, dogs, and nineteenth-century music." Her childhood years were spent between her parents' home near Red Bank, New Jersey, and her grandmother's rambling stucco house on the Jersey Shore. Most of her sentimental memories, both good and bad, stem from that place and time. Her mother was a dancer in the Russian Ballet, and her father a playwright and actor. Mrs. Wells says, "Both my parents flooded me with books and stories. My grandmother took me on special trips to the theater and museums in New York. "Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books. She has won numerous awards, and has given readers such unforgettable characters as Max and Ruby, Noisy Nora, and Yoko. She has also given Mother Goose new life in two enormous, definitive editions, published by Candlewick. Wells wrote and illustrated Unfortunately Harriet, her first book with Dial, in 1972. One year later she wrote the popular Noisy Nora. "The children and our home life have inspired, in part, many of my books. Our West Highland white terrier, Angus, had the shape and expressions to become Benjamin and Tulip, Timothy, and all the other animals I have made up for my stories." Her daughters Victoria and Beezoo were constant inspirations, especially for the now famous "Max" board book series. "Simple incidents from childhood are universal," Wells says. "The dynamics between older and younger siblings are common to all families."But not all of Wells' ideas come from within the family circle. Many times when speaking, Mrs. Wells is asked where her ideas come from. She usually answers, "It's a writer's job to have ideas." Sometimes an idea comes from something she reads or hears about, as in the case of her recent book, Mary on Horseback, a story based on the life of Mary Breckenridge, who founded the Frontier Nursing Service. Timothy Goes to School was based on an incident in which her daughter was teased for wearing the wrong clothes to a Christmas concert. Her dogs, west highland terriers, Lucy and Snowy, work their way into her drawings in expression and body position. She admits, "I put into my books all of the things I remember. I am an accomplished eavesdropper in restaurants, trains, and gatherings of any kind. These remembrances are jumbled up and changed because fiction is always more palatable than truth. Memories become more true as they are honed and whittled into characters and stories."