Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Tavares ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) crafts a polished tribute to another holiday classic, this time a Thanksgiving song that writer and activist Child wrote as a poem for an 1844 volume. This version preserves Child's original punctuation and spellings, and while the song's later verses probably won't be instantly recognizable (a common enough occurrence with holiday songs), readers' familiarity with the tune will carry them through. So will Tavares's paintings, a mix of watercolors, gouache, and pencil whose crispness is well suited to the wintry 19th-century setting. Tavares brings life to this countryside jaunt with light doses of humor and action: A dog races after the sleigh, trying to return a lost hat, and a boy, riding inside with his parents, peers out excitedly as the horse bounds uphill, rabbits dodging and dashing ("Over the river, and through the wood,/ No matter for winds that blow"). Other active scenes show a crowded pond full of ice skaters and a snowball fight en route, as Tavares evokes both the frosty ride and the cozy rewards at journey's end. Ages 3-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-A charming and dynamic rendition of the song about Thanksgiving Day, originally published in 1844. All 12 original verses are included, each old-fashioned scene appropriately matching the text. Tavares's watercolor, ink, and pencil illustrations are crisp and bright, expertly capturing the wind-whipped outdoor scenes of the sleigh moving from page to page and ultimately to grandfather's house for a feast. This version is similar in feel to the one illustrated by Brinton Turkle (Coward-McCann, 1974), but it does not include the music notation. A note about the author's life is appended. Overall, a worthy addition.-Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wintry new illustrations recall the forgotten landscape of Child's traditional Thanksgiving travel song.A horse-drawn sleigh carries a boy, his parents and sister through his New England hometown. They pass a toy store, cross over a frozen river where townspeople skate and travel through a gentle snowfall into the countryside to his grandparents' home, where cousins play snowball and grandmother waits with pie. Each verse is set on a full-bleed, double-page painting done in watercolor, ink and pencil, sentimental evocations of the early 19th century. Tavares (Henry Aaron's Dream, 2010, etc.) shows the original farmhouse Child would have visited rather than the much enlarged version to be seen in Medford, Mass., today. Careful readers will enjoy tiny details in the illustrations. Early on, the boy's cap blows off. The dog captures it and trots alongside, only dropping it after their safe arrival. From broad landscapes to family close-ups, the illustrator varies his subjects and perspectives. The sleigh moves steadily forward until it arrives, turns and stops. The page turn reveals the extended family at dinner. Readers who think they know the song will be surprised to see unfamiliar verses; not all of them scan well as the familiar ones, but they also extend the story.A note about the author and her poem concludes this celebration, an ideal grandparent gift. (Picture book. 3-6) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
