Rush Hour

September 23, 1996
This picture book follows the rhythms of a work day in New York City, from the first stirrings of the morning to the moment when parents and children are joyfully reunited in the evening. The main focus, of course, is the bustle of rush hour: the whirl of people crowding into subway cars, cars cascading over bridges and crowds swelling out of Grand Central resembles a three-ring circus. Loomis's (The Hippo Hop) concise, rhyming text evokes a cheerful diversity of people--"Out their doors/ Go moms and dads,/ Lugging tools/ Or books and pads"--and the chaotic sounds and sights of rush hour, "Rumbling,/ Roaring,/ Jiggling,/ Jumping,/ Left turn,/ Right turn,/ Backing,/ Bumping." Takabayashi's (Baby's Things) engaging watercolors are a kaleidoscope of color, pattern and activity. Presented as a multiplicity of panels, the illustrations offer seemingly inexhaustible, enjoyable details: one patchwork of pictures depicts people decorating cakes, delivering mail, teaching aerobics and more, their simple faces showing a remarkable range of expression. Rather than focusing on one individual or family, this lovely book opens young readers up to a wide, complex, but still reassuring world. It may well instill a love of the kinetic vibrancy of urban life. Ages 3-8.

September 1, 1996
PreS-Gr 2-The author of One Cow Coughs (Ticknor & Fields, 1994) teams up with a relatively new illustrator to show children how their parents get to and from work: "Running, jumping onto trains,/Subways, buses,/Boats, and planes,/Taxis, bikes,/A car-pool van,/Cars of blue and red and tan...." Takabayashi sets this morning and evening ritual in New York City, with scenes of antlike crowds in Grand Central Station; slow traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge; ferries, subways, and sidewalks jammed with commuters. The illustrations, naive, delicate watercolors in small cartouches that occasionally coalesce into spread-filling melanges of color, effectively capture the hustle and bustle of it all. A couple of things aren't quite right: the ethnic representation is unbalanced and New Yorkers will laugh at the idea that post-rush hour streets and trains are nearly deserted. The simple, energetic language and visuals are well matched, however, and the emphasis on transportation will please young fans of winged and wheeled vehicles. Pair this with Patricia Grossman's Night Ones (Harcourt, 1991) to remind readers that not everyone works 9 to 5, and that not all workers are mommies and daddies.-John Peters, New York Public Library

July 1, 1996
Ages 3^-7. In crackling good rhyme, Loomis treats little ones to a peek at what moms and dads do when they go off to work each day. Filled with loads of good action words, the snappy text, which will have kids chanting right along, catches active parents "running, jumping / Onto trains / Subways, buses, boats, and planes" during their daytime travels. Takabayashi's wonderfully busy artwork is a fine match for the lively rhyme. Loaded with details for kids to pore over, the pictures, which often cleverly overlap on the page, catch the colorful energy of urban-and suburbanites on the move--heading out, at their jobs, then hurrying home again: "Doors swing open / Kids run fast / Moms and dads / Are home at last." A loving, comforting book for grown-ups to share with their children. ((Reviewed July 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)