Someday (Hardcover)

by Alison McGhee (Author), Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one," opens McGhee's (A Very Brave Witch) understated yet emotion-charged expression of a mother's love and hopes for her child. Reynolds's (The Dot) spare, wispy pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations depict the narrator and her daughter sharing everyday moments that mark milestones in the girl's maturation: the mother watches snowflakes "melt on your baby skin" and crosses the street as her little one grasps her hand. A transitional spread first reveals the youngster on a tricycle, aided by her mother, and then riding solo on a bicycle ("Then, you were my baby,/ and now you are my child"). Quietly the emotion builds, as the mother thinks of the future in store for her daughter, its joys and sorrows: "Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me until I no longer see you." Here Reynolds depicts the woman, older than she was at the book's start, on the left, gazing forlornly across the white expanse of the spread. The narrative comes full circle, as the parent looks ahead to a day, "a long time from now," when her daughter's own hair will "glow silver in the sun." Handlettering by Reynolds augments the story's deeply personal quality, which will resonate with both new and seasoned mothers. All ages. (Mar.)
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From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2—A mother speaks to her young daughter of milestones to come in her life, first recalling her infancy ("One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one"), and then contemplating her future ("Someday you will swing high—so high, higher than you ever dared to swing"), her adulthood ("Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair"), and her old age ("Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun. And when that day comes, love, you will remember me"). The pen, ink, and watercolor sketches have the same soft sentimentality as the text. The artist's use of white space and hand-printed letters gives a childlike innocence to the book. However, its greeting-card quality will appeal more to new mothers and gift-givers than to children. Barbara M. Joosse's Mama, Do You Love Me? (Chronicle, 1991) is a better choice for libraries.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (February 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416928111
• ISBN-13: 978-1416928119
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To treasure forever, March 11, 2007

By	Busy Bee (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This book is beautiful and moving. The illustrations are cute and fun, there's very little text, just one or two sentences on each page under the drawing.
In simple beautiful words the author takes her daughter from her birth to the day when she will be a mother herself, and ultimately be old and cherish the memory of her Mom.
It is amazing how such simple illustrations and words can convey such strong emotions.
This is a book that every Mom will treasure. Reading it will likely bring tears to her eyes, and sharing it with her child will be a special moment...

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mother's Storybook Wish for Her Child, October 4, 2007

By	Ann Douglas "pregnancy/parenting author" (Peterborough, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

SOMEDAY is a mother's heartfelt storybook wish for her child -- that her child will grow up healthy, experience great joys, and someday have a family of her own. It's also a wish that she will be lovingly remembered by her child ("Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun. And when that day comes, love, you will remember be.") The book is reminiscent of Robert Munsch's Love You Forever, but the storyline is simpler and more realistic. The illustrations complement the story beautifully. Highly recommended.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure of Text and Timeless Images, March 28, 2007

By	Timothy Hernandez "metimoteo" (the centennial state) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I can think of no better book for a mother to give her daughter right now. Peter H. Reynolds has done his best to inspire a new generation of readers through his works, notably, The Dot (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards), and here he teams with Alison McGhee to create a book of memories, I think, any mom would be proud to share with her daughter. The book traces significant moments in a girl's life from infancy through adulthood, chronicling both achievements and heartache along the way. The soft-hued illustrations complement the simple, repetitive text and make the book appropriate for the youngest of readers. If you don't find yourself tearing up at the end, you're not human. I can't wait for McGhee and Reynolds to collaborate on a book for fathers and their sons.