Worksong [Hardcover]

Gary Paulsen (Author), Ruth Paulsen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

People at work, doing things that are so essential to us all, are lyrically depicted in Gary Paulsen’s spare and elegant verse and Ruth Wright Paulsen’s richly textured oil paintings. This talented pair celebrates the work ethic with sensitivity and dignity--and reminds us of the quiet grace inherent in everyday lives. “The soft colors, spare text, and overall design of the book provide a song of praise to the unsung heroes in every child’s world and to the simple satisfaction of a job well done.”--School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PW called this a "gentle rhyming hymn to the dignity of work." Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. As they did in Tortilla Factory (Harcourt, 1995), the Paulsens have once again collaborated to celebrate the labors of common people. Gary Paulsen's brief rhyming text evokes the rhythm and sounds of a musical score as he pays homage to the "keening noises and jolting sights" of a carpenter at work on a new house or truckers on "one more nighttime run." Although the author mentions "offices filled with glowing screens," the occupations celebrated within these covers are not to be found in financial houses on Wall Street or among the corporate giants. Instead, he has looked to the streets outside the skyscrapers, into the small shops, classrooms, and factories that fill our cities and into the fields, highways, and markets that extend across the countryside. Here are the mothers and fathers of the majority of America's children. Ruth Wright Paulsen's impressionistic oil paintings extend the brief text into many worlds?an ice-cream shop, a hairdressing salon, a library, and even under the sea. Individuals from many cultures carry on their daily work with great dignity, returning home to their families at the end of the day to rest and prepare to carry on the same refrain in the morning. Although the gender depictions are fairly traditional, the soft colors, spare text, and overall design of the book provide a song of praise to the unsung heroes in every child's world and to the simple satisfaction of a job well done.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152009809
• ISBN-13: 978-0152009809
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,464,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newberry Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.