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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Monmouth Public Library | ZOLOTOW | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library | E ZOLOTOW | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A mother explains to her son that an end is also a beginning as day gives way to night, winter ends and spring begins, and, after it stops falling, rain makes clouds for other storms.
Author Notes
Charlotte Zolotow was born Charlotte Gertrude Shapiro on June 26, 1915 in Norfolk, Virginia. She studied at the University of Wisconsin, where she took classes in art, writing and child psychology. She began her publishing career in New York, in the adult trade-book division of what is now known as HarperCollins, but eventually took a job in the children's division. As an editor, she presided over her own imprint, Charlotte Zolotow Books. She was named publisher emerita at HarperCollins in 1991.
Her first picture book, The Park Book, was published in 1944. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 90 children's books including Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, My Grandson Lew, William's Doll, The Hating Book, and The Seashore Book. In 1998, the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) at the Univeristy of Wisconsin - Madison's School of Education established the Charlotte Zolotow Award, which is an American literary award presented annually for outstanding picture book writing published in the United States in the preceding year. Zolotow died on November 19, 2013 at the age of 98.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-KA perfect introduction to natural science. Although this new version (Harper, 1962; o.p.) has a completely new look and the text has been revised somewhat, the quiet, contemplative mood is unchanged. A young boy is reluctant for his day to end, but his mother assures him that nothing in the natural world ends. ``It begins in another place, or in a different way.'' She responds with rich verbal images to his questions about where the wind, waves, and clouds go, and about the changes of the seasons. Revisions in the text include more questions about the environment and the elimination of questions about man-made things, such as trains and roads. Vitale's illustrations provide a visual response to the simple questions asked, while adding interesting detail about various forms of underwater life, the elements of storms, and landscapes in other parts of the world. Using paint on wood, the artist includes several different styles of modern art. There are hints of Van Gogh, Chagall, and others. Some scenes are done in the folk-art style the illustrator used so successfully in Jim Aylesworth's The Folks in the Valley (HarperCollins, 1992). Together art and text make this new edition a hymn to the continuity of the natural world.Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
A perfect selection for bedtime reading, the narrative is designed in a question-and-answer format as a small boy asks his mother about natural phenomena. From her answers the child deduces that 'nothing ends' -- a fitting, reassuring conclusion affirming the cycle of life. The tone is elegantly matched with glowing paintings executed on wood; their texture adds depth to the linear definition of the stylized shapes. Review 2/76. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A shortened, reillustrated version of a classic picture book (originally illustrated by Howard Knotts, 1975): A child asks ``Why does the day have to end?'' His mother replies, ``So night can begin.'' A chain of questions and answers follows, taking readers across the world and through the seasons. Zolotow makes no substantial changes; she removes a few phrases to tighten the text. Vitale contributes a set of lyrical, simply drawn scenes in subtly blended colors. These are so thinly applied that they are translucent; the grain of the plywood on which they are painted becomes part of the design. A fine, seamless new match of text and art. (Picture book. 4-7)
Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. At the close of a wonderful day, a young boy asks his mother why the day must end. "Nothing ends," he is told. "It begins in another place or in a different way." In this revised and newly illustrated edition of Zolotow's 1962 picture book, the boy's gently probing questions are answered and nature's never-ending cycle of renewal is revealed. Without compromising the ethereal quality of the original book, extraneous text has been eliminated and some of the words and sentences have been rearranged to give the story a smoother flow. Exquisite paintings by Italian illustrator Vitale replace the black-and-white drawings of the first edition. The full-color scenes, painted on wood, gloriously depict heaven and earth and give concrete meaning to abstract concepts. Not only wonderful for lap sharing, this beautiful book will also be a rich supplement for a science unit on the elements or the seasons. (Reviewed July 1995)0060269715Lauren Peterson