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Zagwyn, Deborah Turney
4 Reviews
(3)
K-3
At first, Clee's visit with her uncle Hal is a disappointment; she's dismayed by his messiness, his lopsided barge, and his faulty sailor's knots. But after the barge floats unexpectedly out to sea, Clee comes to appreciate Fishtank Hal's outlook on life. The sunlit illustrations for this satisfying story deftly portray the setting as well as the characters' personalities.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
(4)
K-3
Clee and her little brother feel sad because Gramma is moving out of her house and selling her beloved piano. After the three of them have one last musical romp together, Gramma changes her mind and gives the piano to the children as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately, the text has too many distracting descriptive details, but the author's playful full-color artwork suits the uplifting tale.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(4)
1-3
A gardener, Loretta nurtures her apple trees, hoping someday for ripe fruit, while Delmore, her son, practices hitting a baseball, hoping someday for a fair ball. Zagwÿn develops her story through art and repetitive narrative, so the reader sees the parallels between the goals of mother and son. The cheerful, if somewhat overlong, story is illustrated in the golds and greens of summer days.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
(4)
K-3
Summer brings Clee a new brother and a turtle from her uncle. In fall, her father goes away to work, but the turtle keeps her company until the frosty day she forgets him outside. After a sad, lonely winter, she's overjoyed to see her turtle emerge from the spring-warmed compost heap. At times the text is forced, but the busy watercolors effectively chart the turning of the seasons above and below ground. An author's note about hibernation is included.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
4 reviews
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