Market Day: A Story Told with Folk Art (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Red rooster crows..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's market day! Wake up and feed the red rooster and chickens. Get the vegetables ready, and let's go! This market is no run-of-the-mill everyday market. This is a farmer's market created entirely from folk-art objects and textiles. Collected and photographed by Lois Ehlert, these beautiful "primitive" pieces of art are stunning in color and form. A two-page reference guide at the end of the book describes where each object came from, and what it is made of. From Mexico to Africa to the United States to Indonesia, this stunning collection is worth many hours of perusal. The accompanying text, describing the day's journey to the market, and the activities to partake in once there, takes a distant second to the star of the show--the artwork. Cotton-and-yarn mice dolls from Indonesia ride an African motorcycle made from discarded metal containers, wire, bike chain, rubber, and plastic. A painted wood rooster from Guatemala watches over papier-mâché vegetables from the U.S. and Mexico. Market Day is a truly stunning picture book, sure to impress and enchant readers of all ages.

Caldecott winner Lois Ehlert is no stranger to arts-and-crafts-inspired picture books, as evidenced by her Hands and Snowballs, among many other unique and wonderful titles. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Ehlert (Hands) parades her personal collection of folk art, hailing from countries as diverse as Guatemala, Indonesia and Africa, across crisply designed pages in this exuberant picture book about the vendors and shoppers at a bustling open-air market. A brief, rhyming text describes a family's preparations for a day selling their wares at the local market ("Pull up some carrots./ Shake off the dirt./ Pack the tomatoes./ Tuck in your shirt"). Ehlert's arresting artwork gives this book a distinct south-of-the-border spice: she arranges photographs of dolls, animals, fruit and vegetablesDhand-crafted from such materials as carved, painted wood, pounded tin and woven, dyed fibersDin bright, busy collages on bold, often quilted backgrounds. Each of the unique objects within a scene inspires a sense of wonderment and invites closer inspection. Via art and story, kids are introduced to some of the intrinsic beauty of exotic places like Colombia, Mexico and Peru. A spectacular, tightly arranged two-page photo-catalogue at book's end entitled "Where did they come from? What are they made of?" will satisfy readers' curiosity about the composition and origins of the featured artifacts. Ehlert has indulged her passion for Latin American lore and culture before, notably in Cuckoo/Cuc# and Moon Rope, but readers will surely be glad she has revisited this terrain. Ages 3-7. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152021582
• ISBN-13: 978-0152021580
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #950,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful folk art collage with a wonderful story!, May 15, 2001

By	Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews

Ms. Ehlert collects different types of handmade folk art from all over the world. In this collection, she has arranged items as varied as ice fishing decoys from the United States and beaded dolls from Africa to create a collage to illustrate this fun, colorful story.

It's market day, so let's feed the animals, pack up the veggies and the things to sell, and head on out to the market!! Along the way, we'll pass colorful birds and even snakes sunning themselves in the grass. We'll stay all day until the sun goes down and then head back home with all the wonderful things we've bought. Told in rhyme, "Market Day" is a colorful story with a lot of energy to it. A blue bull doll from Africa carries a giant carrot to market alongside a row of papier-mache turnips from the United States. A hand-carved cart with people from Mexico joins the procession, along with other art from Central America.

While she is perhaps best known for her illustration of the famous children's book, "Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom", Ms. Ehlert has written and illustrated many other books as well. All have her distinctive cut-paper or photograph style to them, but I would rank "Market Day" as one of my favorites by her. In a world where very FEW things are made by hand, "Market Day" is a welcome reminder of the fine art of everyday. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Market Day by Lois Elhert, March 28, 2008

By	Clara J. Conrad "Hunter's Nana" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Market Day: A Story Told with Folk Art (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my 6 year old grandson. He is in kindergarten and his teacher uses a lot of Lois Elhert's books. We have purchased a lot of her books and I think his favorite is "Nuts to You". We had a lot of fun reading this book. He is just learning to read and we look forward to reading books when he visits, which is quite often. If you ask him who his favorite author is, he always says "Lois Elhert". He loves books and I know that I can always order them reasonably on Amazon.com.

Janie Conrad

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhyming fun, February 20, 2001

By A Customer

My four-year-old daughter is fasinated by the simple rhyming text and bright folk art pictures of this book. I think younger children would likewise enjoy it. We also like to read all the countries of origin for the various folk art pieces at the back of the book.