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Summary
Summary
A fun and creative journey using the powers of pretence When a special gift for Grandma arrives one sunny day, this little girl decides to deliver it in person. Grandma's house is just a hop, skip and a jump away, but it seems like a long way - specially when you need to get there by car, boat, plane and subway * A lively celebration of the imagination, and the fun to be had with just a brown, cardboard box * Cheerful, whimsical illustrations. * A new author and illustrator to the Walker list.
Author Notes
Katherine Ayres has been a lover of books since earliest childhood, when she began inventing stories before she could even write them down. She is the author of numerous books for children, including two books in the American Girl History Mysteries series. She says of A LONG WAY, "This started out as a simple story about traveling, based on a real trip I took with my daughters. Tricia Tusa's pictures take it into another country altogether, the land of make-believe, where my granddaughter now spends much of her time."
Tricia Tusa divides her time between Texas and New Mexico with her family. She is the illustrator of many well-loved books for children. Tricia Tusa also experienced an early calling to the world of children's books. She says, "I decided I wanted to create children's books when I was five and hope I continue doing so until I leave the planet and travel to Pluto. . . ."
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-When a gift arrives for Grandma in a large brown box, a girl and her mother wrap it and the child sets off to deliver it. She uses her lively imagination to transform the carton into a car, a boat, an airplane, and a subway. At last, on her own two feet, the youngster arrives at Grandma's door. The woman is delighted with her present-a new watering can that she transforms into a teapot for a party with her granddaughter and traveling companions, a hen, a turtle, and a dog. This gentle ode to the fantastical possibilities of the large brown box and a child's creativity is illustrated with ink, watercolor, and gouache artwork that is reminiscent of Brock Cole's work, somehow whirling, kinetic, and tender all at once. This could be a jumping-off place for any number of creative adventures with found objects.-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
One cardboard box plus one girl's active imagination equals an extended jaunt to Grandma's house next door, with a detour into make-believe. On a mission to deliver a gift, the granddaughter uses the empty box to create different modes of transport; Ayres's (Macaroni Boy) economical text (e.g., the four words First... car/ then... boat... unspool over eight consecutive pages) leaves it to Tusa's (The Ballad of Valentine) characteristically cheery gouache illustrations to flesh out the journey. Sprightly spot illustrations show the girl earnestly gathering materials for each imaginary vehicle, and these alternate with spreads of the girl piloting the crude finished product. In the end, she flies her plane (a magical from-behind scene features the girl soaring between lawns with an airborne pet chicken, dog and turtle in tow), takes the subway and gleefully presents an oversize watering can to her gardening grandma. Tusa's sure lines and sunny hues depict both the girl's diligence and her playful nature. Background details, like a Humpty Dumpty knickknack among the kitchen clutter, add to the story's buoyant, can-do tone. Readers are continually treated to clues as to where the resourceful girl gets her creative spirit, as in the whimsical mailbox her mother paints or the concluding tea party Grandma hosts. A clever synergy of art and text, and an invigorating romp into the realm of childhood play. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved