Review by Booklist Review
Anderson elevates and celebrates the mundane, emphasizing the special moments that occur between parent and child during the ordinary task of laundry. Her lyrical text focuses on the sensory aspects of line-dried clothing: On washing day, / I get my laundry ready / for the warm air, / sweet and spicy. Birds laugh and insects float by, children play hide-and-seek in the hanging clothes, and bright sunshine finishes the job. Then it's home to sort, fold, and stack, and finally off to bed with sheets that smell of sunshine. The brightly colored mixed-media illustrations depict a variety of families, cultures, and distinctive fabric patterns. No Laundromats or labor-saving devices are depicted, but everyone seems to be having a good time, including those who are outside, washing in a stream. For better or worse, the text specifically addresses Mommy and me, but several illustrations depict short-haired individuals dressed ambiguously in pants. A unique way to look at a common task through a global lens.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-All around the world on washing day, parents and children are hanging clean laundry out to dry. Though some of the adults pictured seem androgynous, only mothers are mentioned. While Anderson's lyrical text may appeal to dreamy youngsters, some of the verbal imagery may be too abstract for a young audience. Mixed-media folk-art illustrations depict various cultures without resorting to stereotypes. The details and bright colors shine in the full-bleed spreads, making the contrast between recto and verso illustrations on the other pages feel jarring. Libraries in areas in which this sort of wash day is a common experience may consider this as an additional purchase.-Rebecca Dash Donsky, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2014. 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
Mothers and children worldwide celebrate the pleasures of putting out laundry and taking it in. In a child's voice (but an adult's language), the narrator begins with readying the laundry on "washing day," "for the laughing birds, / the insects floating by, // the neighborhood dogs / barking out their stories, // and the clothespins." Once the sunshine has filled "everything on the clothesline / with smells, stories, and wind," garments and blankets are brought inside to fold, stack and cover the bed--with a comforting smell of sunshine to counter nighttime frets. Beginning with a view of two children standing on a world map, Anderson's paint, fabric and paper collages suggest but don't specify locations with visual cues like a screen of green bamboo, a desert background, glimpses of apartment-house walls, and figures in blue jeans or skirts and dresses with bright floral or kente patterns. The laundry is likewise generic, and all the underwear has been hung out of sight. On spreads with single-page illustrations, contrasting shifts of place or season make visual transitions abrupt, and apparently nowhere in the world are fathers involved in laundry. Still, when it comes to domestic chores, hanging laundry is about as universal as it gets, and the activity is presented here as an intimate, positive experience for parent and child to share. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
