Awards

• Commended for Texas 2x2 Reading List 2007

Overview

Celebrate friendship with Coretta Scott King Award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist! Drum is worried that summer will be a bummer until Dorene, Louis, and Rae enter his life unexpectedly. Together they embark on an unforgettable summer of discovery and creative play. With free-verse poetry perfect for reading aloud and inspired illustrations, this picture book by the legendary author/illustrator team follows four children as they explore the bonds of friendship, family, and community. ""Fun for reading aloud."" —Booklist

Full Product Details

9780060007591

Table of Contents

Reviews

Has an open accessibility, with its big print and visually inviting pages, and an upbeat warmth.--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Idealistic and nostalgic Perfect for classroom readers' theater or as a way for a young child to share reading with an older sibling or parent.--Horn Book Magazine This accessible and well-written book has a nostalgic tone.--School Library Journal Lively, occasionally rhyming poems celebrate the friendship of kids from different families. Fun for reading aloud.--Booklist A lively tribute to children's imagination as well as an inviting introduction to free verse.--Kirkus Reviews

Has an open accessibility, with its big print and visually inviting pages, and an upbeat warmth.--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Idealistic and nostalgic Perfect for classroom readers' theater or as a way for a young child to share reading with an older sibling or parent.--Horn Book Magazine This accessible and well-written book has a nostalgic tone.--School Library Journal A lively tribute to children's imagination as well as an inviting introduction to free verse.--Kirkus Reviews Lively, occasionally rhyming poems celebrate the friendship of kids from different families. Fun for reading aloud.--Booklist

Four new friends turn a dull summer around with creative projects and energetic play. Greenfield's form gets attention right away; the narrative unfolds via 34 free-verse poems in six parts, beginning with One. Drummond. Drum introduces himself and describes his boredom, perking up when a new family moves in down the street. Drum and the new kid, Doreen, play a series of games. Their bright verses (and many that follow) could also be viewed as short scenes, suitable for classroom use. Louis comes next, then Rae. Each voice has its own color-red, green, blue and purple-as they talk to each other and plan. The quartet is crackling with ideas, like a makeshift town made out of cardboard and paint in Drum's back yard. They act out various scenarios in their town's many establishments. Gilchrist's watercolor illustrations work in harmony with the text, in a variety of configurations vis-a-vis the verse. All that can end this summer idyll is the start of a new school year. A lively tribute to children's imagination as well as an inviting introduction to free verse. (Picture book. 5-9) (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Eloise Greenfield's love of writing shines through brilliantly in each and every one of her books, which include Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems and How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea, both illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. She is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, the Foundation for Children's Literature Hope S. Dean Award, and the National Council for the Social Studies Carter G. Woodson Book Award. Ms. Greenfield lives in Washington, DC. You can follow her on Twitter @ELGreenfield.

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