Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing to 6 a.m. the following morning, this neatly planned, interactive story tracks the movements of a city building's inhabitants throughout the course of a single day. Looking through the windows of one three-story building with a large clock on its face, Takeuchi (Can You Find My Robot's Arm?) depicts the activities of its toy-like, dot-eyed inhabitants, portrayed with various skin tones. A bakery and a barber occupy the gabled building's street level; a clockmaker, a family, and a grandmother live in apartments above them; and an artist and a musician occupy the top floor. Each space contains furniture, pets, tools, and more. "Rise and shine," play-by-play text begins. "The baker has already been up for several hours baking fresh bread for the day. Grandma is having breakfast with her friends." Most pages conclude with a question, and enlarged vignettes on the recto reward careful inspection (Grandma's "friends" are numerous cats, plus a color-changing chameleon). Conversational, cheerful prose recalls that of Richard Scarry in its attention to life's small dramas ("The ice-cream truck is here./ Who wants ice-cream?"). As new things happen and scenes change, there's always something else to see in this cozy chronicle, which asks questions, teaches time-telling, and gently nudges viewers to closely observe the world around them. Ages 3--7. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Not enough hours in the day! This delightful Australian import, a seek-and-find challenge teeming with details, invites kids to observe activities occurring at various hours from morning to night in an apartment building that includes a bakery, a barbershop, and several residences. Bonus: Kids can practice telling time from the analog clock atop the building. Black text presents a simple narrative about various goings-on--from 7 a.m. to 6 a.m. the next day--and who's performing them, including the baker and Grandma. Grayscale text at the bottom of each page asks readers to locate items. Youngsters' counting, color-perception, and vocabulary skills are tested throughout, with questions such as "How many mugs can you find?" This book won't disappoint: Savoring small details is fun and a terrific way to sharpen visual literacy. Kids will appreciate getting the chance to notice subtle changes in the scenes. In daylight, the building appears against a turquoise backdrop. At dusk, it's deep red, signaling approaching nightfall; at night and in the early-morning hours, it's dark blue, lightening with dawn. Some details are tricky to discern, but kids won't mind. Adults should encourage children to volunteer activities they and their families do during certain day/evening hours and help them practice telling time with simple clocks. Characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Be sure to make time for this charmer; kids will want to return to it time and again. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
