One Boy Watching
by Grant Snider (Author)
Everyone knows what it feels like to be a passenger--and this book finally puts this universal feeling into words.
Climb aboard Bus Number Four as it travels along country roads and city streets, past train tracks and farm fields. Through the window, countless details rush by, just waiting to be noticed. What will you see today? In this lyrical tribute to long rides and curious minds, author Grant Snider celebrates the extraordinary found within the ordinary, the fascinating hiding within the familiar, and the world of discovery awaiting all those who watch and wonder.
THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A PASSENGER: An ode to staring out the window, to the daydream, and to observation. This thoughtful new picture book is a wonderful way for kids to think about their own commute to school.
COUNTING: Every morning, one boy watches . . . for two bright headlights, three big steps up, four rusty cars, and infinite wonders that can be seen along the way! Kids will enjoy counting the colorful worlds that slip by the windows on this journey.
READ ALOUD: With its contemplative and poetic lyricism, and bright, textured illustrations, this classic-feeling book is a beautiful read aloud.
Perfect for:
- Parents and grandparents of introspective, introverted, or thoughtful daydreamers
- Families who commute, take road trips, or enjoy long car rides
- Fans of Grant Snider's previous titles, including What Color is Night?, What Sound is Morning? and There Is A Rainbow.
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Publishers Weekly
A long school bus trip through farmland forms the scaffolding of this counting meditation by Snider (Blue Floats Away), in which a light-brown-skinned boy wearing a magenta hoodie, a bus's first passenger of the day, boards the vehicle and gazes out the window. Simple, rhythmic lines place readers in the here and now: "Four rusty cars./ Seven wild sunflowers." Sunrise colors illuminate colored pencil and marker spreads--the bus's warm orange-yellow, its interior's cool blue shadows, and the rose and lemon of the dawn breaking over barns and pastures. Stop by stop, the bus picks up pupils of various skin tones in a regimen they all seem to know. Small, unexpected incidents provide drama ("One big BUMP!/ All the kids in back JUMP!"), while arrival in town is marked by specific landmarks ("Two water towers. One grain elevator"). They're the compass points of the child's internal landscape, and as the school day ends, he envisions seeing them on the trip home. The sanctuary of unchanging routine allows the boy to devote attention to the beauty of the ordinary world across space and time--something that Snider represents as both worthwhile and deeply human. Ages 3-5. Agent: Judy Hansen, Hansen Literary. (June)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV009030 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Counting & Numbers
JUV041030 - Juvenile Fiction | Transportation | Cars & Trucks
Imagination
Curiosity
School buses
