A Child’s Calendar
A Child's Calendar (20th Anniversary Edition)
John Updike; Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator)
John Updike was an American writer, who won many awards, including, the National Book Award, American Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and a National Arts Club Medal of Honor. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for Rabbit is Rich and another Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for Rabbit at Rest. He wrote poetry, essays, short-stories, novels, and in 1965 he wrote the beautiful children’s book A Child’s Calendar.
A Child’s Calendar won the Caldecott Honor, an annually award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This lovely collection of poems is excellent to use to introduce children to poetry and the writing of a classic American writer. Comprised of twelve poems, each poem and ode to one of the twelve seasons. Illustrated by Caldecott Medal award winning illustrator Trina Schart Hyman, the lovely images of a quaint New England town paired with Updike’s rhythmic rhyming evokes a child’s life through the course of a year. The illustrations definitely add a special element to the book, especially if you are from or a have a connection to a New England town. Children reading this book will love seeing the changes of the seasons throughout the pages of A Child’s Calendar.
This book is best for ages eight to eleven or 4 to seven to be read with the help of an adult. The sweet illustrations paired with the lovely poems will prove to kids that poetry can be fun!
CRITICS HAVE SAID
- “Updike’s poetry and Hyman’s glowing illustrations lovingly portray a year in the life of a child . . . in this gem.”—School Library Journal, starred review
- “Each evocative illustration has its own story to tell, celebrating the small moments in children’s lives with clarity and sensitivity, with empathy and joy. A beautifully illustrated edition of Updike’s poems for children.”—Booklist
- “The language and illustrations are . . . vibrantly alive enough to keep young readers occupied through more than one reading.”—Publishers Weekly
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
- The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth, 2002
- Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward, 1997
- The Turning of the Year by Bill Martin Jr, 2007