To Market, to Market

March 7, 2011
Though the first pages of McClure's (All in a Day) latest inhabit familiar territory, exploring the world of a small child in simple language ("Today is Market Day. The farmers load their trucks with carrots and squashes, pears and mushrooms, fennel and chard"), intervening spreads offer more complex descriptions of the sources of the market's artisanal food. "To plant his orchard, Michael traveled to old orchards and collected scions, small cuttings of branches, from the trees laden with the best fruit." Michael appears on the left behind a dense network of leaves and apples, opposite a careful account of his work. "Thank you, Michael, for these crisp new apples," the description concludes. The effect of each closing benediction is that of a grateful prayer. McClure's papercuts of windblown hair, vegetable leaves, craftsmen at work, and beds of hay continue to delight. This is, in effect, two books in one: younger readers can stick to the gentle introductions to sections about kale, smoked salmon, honey, blueberry turnovers, cheese, and even napkins; older children will appreciate (and have the patience to sit through) each product's path to market. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from April 15, 2011

Readers join a mother and child on their trip to the farmers market, meeting vendors and learning how they prepare their goods for sale.

Exact, masterful cut-paper illustrations bring the market's smells, produce, bustle and cheery people to life. At each stand, a double-page spread introduces the artisan and the next item on the family's shopping list (which appears on the title page). On the left, proud portraits of smiling producers selling their goods immediately humanize the quotidian errand; on the right, the list item appears in large, colored lettering followed by a brief introduction to both sellers and their products. McClure calls the vendors by their first names only, and her conversational tone feels almost as warm as a good handshake. A page-turn takes readers back to the orchard, field, smoke-house, garage or barn where their goods originated—earthy, realistic scenes captured brilliantly through bold, black lines and the use of a single color associated with each item. Opposite pages deliver lengthy, sometimes exhausting, descriptions of each production process. McClure clearly wishes to honor the sellers' unflagging energy and admirable work, and she succeeds handily through her lively illustrations. Here, cut paper reads as freeze frames, action shots of real people with cockeyed grins, tattoos, funny hats, dogs and children.

These soulful images never feel static—an amazing feat for such a deliberate, painstaking medium. (Picture book. 2-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2011

Gr 1-4-As a mother and son meander through the Olympia, WA, market, a full-page illustration shows them at a farmer's table while the facing page names the food sold there and briefly introduces the person who grows it. On the next page the farmer is illustrated at work and several paragraphs of elegant prose describe each process, ending with a simple "thank you." In this way, youngsters learn about apple-tree grafting and pruning, growing kale, beekeeping, smoking fish, baking, making batik napkins, and the art of cheese-making. Market day done, the mother and son head home with their loaded basket. Reminiscent of WPA woodcuts, McClure's mysterious and beautiful images are cut from black paper with an X-Acto knife; the lacelike result is scanned and colored. McClure's art and life intersect in this stirring tribute to the connections among nature, people, and the food that nourishes them. Maximize the impact in a "food for thought" display alongside Kathryn Lasky's Sugaring Time (S & S, 1983), Bonnie Geisert's Haystack (Houghton, 1995), Harriet Ziefert's One Red Apple (Blue Apple, 2009), and Jan Reynolds's Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life (Lee & Low, 2009).-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
Preschool-G In this picture-book exploration of Market Day, the title page features a shopping list (apples, kale, smoked salmon, honey, blueberry turnovers, napkins, cheese), and as the book unfolds, a child narrator visits the stalls to gather the goods on offer. Each item is featured over four pages. The first spread introduces the particular food and the artisan or farmer responsible for it, and a turn of the page takes young readers and listeners to the locale where it originated and offers a detailed explanation of its production (Genine plants the tiny, round kale seeds in trays of soil). McClures precise cut-paper technique evokes the skill that goes into artistic and horticultural crafts, with a single color on her graphic black-and-white and buff palette, highlighting the red apples, green kale, and golden honey, until the final spread, when the family sits down to an inviting smorgasbord featuring the colorful bounty. This affectionate paean to farmers markets extols the charms of local production and celebrates the expert handiwork behind it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)