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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Dallas Public Library | + PRESCHOOL - MCGOVERN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Jefferson Public Library | P MCGOVERN, A. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
It is wintertime in the city, and Christmas decorations are everywhere. But in Lizzie and Ben's neighborhood, a woman lives in a box, grateful for the warm air that escapes through a vent in the sidewalk. After watching this lady in a box, ' the brother and sister decide to help her, despite their mother's admonition to never talk to strangers. Full color.
Author Notes
Ann McGovern was born in New York City on May 25, 1930. She attended the University of New Mexico. At the age of 22, she worked at Little Golden Books, and wrote several books for the company, most of them based on popular children's cartoons and programs. After leaving Little Golden Books, she worked as a freelance writer before taking a position with Random House in the editorial department. During her time there, she wrote Why It's a Holiday in 1960. She then worked as an editor at Scholastic for 13 years before becoming a full time author.
She wrote 55 books during her lifetime including the If You... series, Stone Soup, The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving, Little Wolf, Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark, The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson, Runaway Slave: The Story of Harriet Tubman, and Zoo, Where Are You?. She died on August 8, 2015 at the age of 85.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5A modern morality tale that never strays too far from the stark reality of homelessness while portraying the generosity and concern of two children for a stranger. Written in direct, disarming prose, Ben's story tells how he and his sister try to help the "lady in the box" who keeps her "home" over the heating grate outside the Circle Deli. Worried, they take her gifts of food and warm clothing and eventually find out that her name is Dorrie. When the owner of the Circle Deli tries to force the woman to move, the children's mother convinces him to let her stay. The family volunteers at the soup kitchen, where they see Dorrie and she smiles and says hello. It's a nice moment as the boy realizes that he has made a difference in someone else's life. Backer's oil illustrations effectively portray both the cold and snow of a city winter and the warmth of the homeless woman's smile as she receives the small acts of kindness. Only fleetingly related to Christmas since it's set during the season, this is nonetheless a fitting story to tell during a time so often filled with excesses. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
McGovern (Playing with Penguins) writes a touching story from the perspective of Ben, a boy who, with his older sister, brings food and a warm scarf to Dorrie, a homeless woman living in a box outside their neighborhood deli. When the store's owner bans Dorrie from the sidewalk, the children's mother convinces him to let the woman return to her space by a heat grate. Ben convincingly shares his thoughts and observations, as when he smiles at Dorrie: "I thought she smiled back. Maybe she didn't. Maybe I just wished she had." While some of the portraits of the children and their new friend are affecting, Backer's (Emma and the Night Dogs) textured oil paintings are inconsistent. On some pages, images and characters' faces are sharp and lifelike, on others they appear blurry and undefined. Still, this is a worthy collaboration that illuminates the realities of homeless life and offers no happy, pat conclusion. Ben sounds the heartening note that the smallest kindnesses can make a difference. Ages 4-up. (Sept.) FYI: The book is also available in a Spanish hardcover edition, La señora de la caja de cartón. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Ben, who appears to be about eight, describes how he and his sister bring food to a homeless woman, Dorrie, thereby bending their mother's rules about talking to strangers--or at least interpreting them widely. Their mother catches on to the missing food and warm scarf: ``Okay, let's see your lady in the box,'' she says. All Dorrie wants is to be allowed to sleep over the warm grate near the deli, whose owner has chased her away; Ben's mother appeals to the owner's sense of charity and Dorrie is restored to her spot. Further, the children start serving food at a neighborhood soup kitchen. Realistic and believable, the story introduces a vast world of homelessness in simple, telling details that are enlarged upon in the art, e.g., a particularly effective picture shows that the people in the soup line are only too accustomed to waiting. Backer uses various techniques to delineate the tone of every scene, sometimes loosely sketching a detail in a thick application of oil paint, sometimes using small, dense flecks to depict snow and the frigid isolation of the conditions outdoors. For readers who witness homelessness every day, the book answers questions, carrying the message that even for large problems, small efforts can make a difference. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Two affecting stories bring home the message that Christmas must be shared to be truly experienced. Ages 6^-9. In a picture book for older children, the award-winning combination of Bunting and Diaz presents another story of life on the streets. Here, the narrator and his mother live in a homemade cardboard house; a calendar angel is their decoration. On Christmas Eve, they have only two cookies to look forward to the next day. When an old woman appears at their door, the mother lets her spend the night; the boy gives her a cookie. Early Christmas Day, he sees the calendar angel come to life--wearing a faded rose as did the old woman. After that, the family's luck changes, and the following Christmas finds them in their own apartment. Using elements of traditional folktales, Bunting provides a simply told story that is infused with the miraculous. The narrator is an Everyboy that readers will respond to, no matter their socioeconomic position, and children will find the ending heartening. The artwork, featuring dramatic backgrounds (actually constructed by another artist and photographed by Diaz), is top-notch. Intricate collages created from scraps of newspaper and images from the story make an arresting backdrop for the bold acrylic-and-watercolor pictures in Diaz's signature style. Ages 5^-8. In McGovern's story, there is another cardboard box at Christmastime, this one positioned in front of the Circle Deli, where the heat comes through the vents. Its occupant, old Dorrie, is helped by Ben and his sister, Lizzie, who bring her food and clothing. When the deli owner insists that Dorrie move, the children's mother gets involved, leading to a slightly better situation for Dorrie and the children's involvement in a homeless shelter. If the Bunting book has an ethereal air surrounding the squalor, this book is true to a child's predilections for helping the less fortunate and has a reasonableness about how much people can help the homeless better their lives. The art here, too, is very strong. Oil paintings, thickly layered at times, demand attention. Several scenes are powdered with snow, adding a beauty that reflects a real-life snowy city scene. These books become modern parables about reaching out to those who can find no room at the inn. --Ilene Cooper