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Searching... Silver Falls Library | JP PERRY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | MORE WORDS PERRY | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Seven-year-old Angel is suffering through the hottest day of her life--ever! Between the heat and the summer doldrums, her whole family is miserable. Then her mother and her aunt Lucy surprise her by suggesting they sleep out on the roof. Angel makes the most of this thrilling escape from the ordinary, and, best of all, morning brings the long-awaited relief. Fanciful, tender illustrations celebrate the everyday magic of a summer rain shower and the kind of shared moments that become a family's lasting memories.
Author Notes
Elizabeth Perry is a teacher, a writer, and a new-media artist. This is her first book. She lives with her family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This charming story will be a perfect antidote to the summer's swelter. It is so hot that Angel's mom and Aunt Lucy decide to reenact a childhood experience and take a mattress up on the roof. As Angel lies beneath the dark and purple sky, she tries to conjure up the thought of melting ice cubes to count, hoping that if she gets up to 1000, they would magically cool her. As she falls asleep, even the buildings surrounding her seem to dance, bending in bright, parfait colors in the inky sky. When she awakens, the sky carries a breeze and the promise of coolness as the first drops of rain start to fall, and the three rush to carry the mattress to safety. Afterward, the sisters returned to their chairs to revel in the raindrops, their nightgowns puffed up around them like tents. Angel dances in her underwear, singing her own version of "Amazing Grace." The three African-American characters are portrayed with swirling, soft circles with jazzy, stylized facial features and elongated limbs. Pair this with Karen Hesse's Come on, Rain! (Scholastic, 1999) or Elinor Lander Horwitz's When the Sky Is Like Lace (HarperCollins, 1987) for a trio of summer delights.-Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Seven-year-old Angel, her mother, and her aunt Lucy create a rooftop retreat to escape the heat of their city apartment. As the adults share grownup talk under the night sky, Angel counts imaginary ice cubes and eventually surrenders to magical dreams. Bold oil and acrylic illustrations effectively convey both the discomfort of summer heat and the joy of summer rain. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Rich in subtle expressions of feeling and character, this visit to tar beach vividly conveys both the oppressive heat of summer and the warmth within an urban family. After Angel's mother and her visiting aunt puff their way up the stairs with an old mattress and some kitchen chairs, Angel lies under the stars, counting ice cubes, listening to the cadences of conversation: ". . . the rhythm of a question and an answer and a question and the beginning of another long, long story about someone she didn't know." Then she dreams of the buildings all around leaning together to talk "about the stars in the sky and the little streets like threads below them." Angel wakes to a magically lit dawn, and a rain shower that sets her to dancing and singing in her underwear, while the grownups laugh and harmonize. The lines in Bronson's flexible city scenes curve and sweep to match Angel's dance, behind broad, brown faces drawn in Chris Raschka-like planes, and in colors that melt from steamy daytime pinks and yellows to cooler evening blues and purples, and then to a mix of hues seen through big drops of rain. Readers will be counting ice cubes along with Angel, and feeling the same sense of refreshment. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. It's hot--so hot that chocolate bars melt before they can be eaten. Angel, an African American girl, can't sleep because of the heat. Her mother and visiting Aunt Lucy tell Angel to think cool thoughts, but it's not until the sisters remember that they went up to the roof during the hot nights of their childhood that a solution is born. Dragging a mattress up to the roof, Angel, her aunt, and her mother spend a starry night under the stars as Angel dreams of birds and buildings. In the morning, sprinkles of rain awaken the sleepers, forcing them to rush downstairs with the mattress and the linens, only to come back up to revel in the splashing rain. Both the realistic premise and the dreamy fantasy are propelled by Bronson's unique, motion-filled artwork. Using geometric and elongated shapes to good effect, her pictures have a distinctive look, with scenes often rounded as if one is looking through a lens. Hot pinks and yellows cool to softer shades once the night falls and rain hits. A jubilant celebration. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2005 Booklist