Red Wagon

December 20, 2010
Lucy, a fox cub with a small pink hair ribbon, wants to play with her new red wagon, but her mother asks her to go to the market: "That sounded like a chore. Lucy didn't want to do chores." In the company of her animal friends, though, the errand becomes a string of adventures. With soft colors, rounded forms, and just the right amount of furry cuddliness, Liwska's (The Quiet Book) paintings portray their encounter with a rainstorm (the wagon becomes a boat atop a huge wave); their visit to the market (a circus, with Lucy tossing fruit to a bear on a trapeze); and the wagon's collision with a rock (a space voyage, with wagon as spaceship and vegetables as celestial objects). The contrast between the matter-of-fact text and whimsical interpretations gives the book its momentum; the last line—"Finally, Lucy was free to play with her wagon"—accompanies a portrait of Lucy asleep inside. Liwska's story stays true to the way children see the world, gives the gentlest of pushes toward cooperation, and offers respite from suburban anxiety and busyness. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from December 15, 2010

A mundane task fills with delicious thrills. Lucy asks permission to play with her new red wagon, so mom agreeably sends her to market with it—but, hmm, "That sounded like a chore. Lucy didn't want to do chores." Never fear; this journey is anything but dull. Adroitly pairing innocently understated prose with pictures of simple but imaginative adventures, Liwska invites readers to giggle at Lucy's impressive escapades that unfold entirely visually. When the rainy countryside becomes a roaring ocean, the wagon's a sailboat riding cresting waves. The wagon also becomes a rocket ship, a train, a construction-site truck and a covered wagon. At the carnival/circus (market), "Lucy neatly loaded the wagon with vegetables from her list"—by juggling them with help from a trapeze flyer. The illustrator's pencil work is nimble, her backgrounds airy and free, with hatched grasses for these child animals—cousins of her characters in Deborah Underwood's Quiet Book (2010)—to romp in. The colors glow softly. Red wagon's last role? The perfect nap-spot for a girl all played out. A winner. (Picture book. 2-5)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-A fluffy bipedal fox has a new red wagon and, as far as she's concerned, it's playtime right now. But Mom has a chore for her first. Lucy needs to go to the market. She's not enthused, but she does head off, shopping list in her paw, and takes along her imagination. Hedgehog, Rabbit, Raccoon, and others join her in fanciful play as the wagon becomes a boat, covered wagon, truck, or train while they make their way down the road. Lucy's Mom is pleased when she returns, task finished, and now it's time to play. Except, all that "work" actually means that the little fox is now ready for a nap. The illustrations are done with pencil and are colored digitally. The small childlike animals are fluffy, soft, and friendly looking. Although the story moves between fantasy and reality without much explanation, overall it offers an appealing-if not outstanding-slice-of-life story.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2011
Preschool-G *Starred Review* The creator of The Quiet Book (2010), a New York Times best-seller, offers a winning story of imaginative play that makes a worthy partner to Crockett Johnsons Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) and Antoinette Portis Not a Box (2007). Lucy, a fuzzy red fox, cant wait to play with her new red wagon, but she doesnt like her mothers suggestion that she use it to go to the market: That sounded like a chore. Lucy didnt want to do chores. Still, shopping list in paw, Lucy sets out, followed by a small menagerie of adorable animal pals. This title owes its delight to the well-balanced, deadpan disparity between the spare, straightforward text and the increasingly wild scenarios depicted in the digitally colored pencil illustrations. According to the words, the animals climb a hill, weather some rain, load up at the market, regroup after hitting a rock, and return home. The pictures, however, show a different story: along the way, the red wagon transforms from pirate ship to covered wagon to circus caravan to train to rocket ship to truck in detailed scenes children will want to revisit. Preschoolers will recognize the reality-blurring borders of their own made-up worlds; children on the cusp of independent reading will enjoy following the simple, bold-type sentences; and both audiences will hope for future adventures from Lucy and her friends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)