Traces (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Karla Kuskin (Illustrator)

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

Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Front Street Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932425438
• ISBN-13: 978-1932425437
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,157,147 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nah, August 23, 2009

By	Cl Smith "AfricanJade" (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.