Sunday Week

"'Blue Monday, everybody's got the Monday morning blues,'" opens Johnson's (All Around Town: The Photographs of Richard Samuel Roberts) impressionistic poem with a gentle cadence, evoking a week in the life of an African-American girl. Each day leading up to Sunday gets a single spread, but "'Come Sunday,'" the most treasured time of the week, eight glorious spreads slow down the pacing, allowing readers to revel in the narrator's favorite rituals. In an opening sketch in charcoal and pastels, Geter (White Socks Only) introduces a beautiful girl with the case of the Monday blahs. As the week progresses, playing jump rope on Tuesday, singing at choir practice on Wednesday, visiting the library story hour on Thursday, Geter shows the heroine's mood improving--by Sunday she is beaming. Both Johnson and Geter create a timeless atmosphere for the reverie. Laundry on the line, a shared meal, a Sunday drive against an autumn sky--all contribute to an atmosphere of family traditions and togetherness. By focusing on the particulars, author and artist strike a universal chord of familial love and the strength of community. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission