Blueberries For Sal

Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: My students weren't really into it. I think it is because the pictures aren't in color...or colorful. The story is average.

Rating:
Summary: Prized in the collection of Professional Childrens Librarian
Review: Of the thousands of books she reviewed only a handfull landed in her personal collection, Blue Berries for Sal is one of them. My Mother had a masters degree in library science and served California's Ventura County as Childrens library administrator for many years. It remains a book dear to my heart and now dear to my young daughter.

Rating:
Summary: a classic book -sets the perfect mood for bedtime
Review: Robert McCloskey is a well known children's writer and this book is one of the reasons why (the other is Make Way for Ducklings). With elegant prose he relates the similarities between a girl helping her mother and a bear cub helping its mother; how being a child is more than a human condition. The appreciation of this book grows with age - making is a perfect gift/hardcover selection.

Rating:
Summary: I still love it!
Review: Sal is every little kid eating all the blueberries in her pail and then reaching into mom's pail to get some more. It is a cute story of mother and and child that all parents and their children will relate to. It is one "children's book" that appeals to all ages. There is adventure and surprise all mixed with humor but I'll let you read about that.

Rating:
Summary: What can you say about a classic
Review: Since I live in Maine this is almost a primer around here. Since I also live in the wild blueberry portion of Maine it was a must have. Now, years later my two boys love the story and will tell me about their blueberry picking trips just like "litle Sal" who whithout a doubt embraces all it is to be small and full of wonder. Mr. McCloskey is a talented and gentle writer who captures the minds and feelings of the small and tall.

Rating:
Summary: "Blueberries..."Well Preserved
Review: That illustration, in blue ink, of Little Sal and her mother canning blueberries in their old-fashioned kitchen, always puts me in mind for blueberry pie. And jam. And muffins. This delicious tale has aged beautifully -- how right the Caldecott people were when they chose to give this book an honorable mention. From that mouth-watering first scene, to the peaceful panorama of the hilly blueberry patch on a fine warm day, McCloskey`s sweet (but not cloyingly so) tale and charming drawings of a little girl, a little bear, and their mothers, who mix themselves up while picking (and eating) blueberries, is a delectable reminder of the simple pleasures in life. My little boys empathize with Sal`s sincere intentions, and thrill to the excitement of such a close encounter with the bears.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy the econo-clad binding
Review: The book, of course, is wonderful. However, be careful which binding you get. There are two hardcover versions listed. Do not make the mistake I did and order the econo-clad edition. It is such a small format that the illustrations are cropped. The binding is low quality, and the price is higher than the good binding (Viking edition). Fortunately, if you do make this mistake, Amazon has an excellent return policy.

Rating:
Summary: This book's got class
Review: The original "Are You My Mother?" book and a classic through and through. In this classic tale the ever androgynous looking Sal and her mother go blueberry picking in the wild outdoors. Sal, voracious for blueberries, loses her mother and attaches herself to a mother bear, just as the bear's child loses its mother and attaches itself to Sal's. The swap is easily cleared up and in the end no harm is done. Sal's mother, seeing that her child is a baby bear and not her own kid, doesn't seem particularly alarmed by the odd turn of events. She is wary of the bear (a wise thing to be) but finds her own child quickly and easily. This is a charming little story. Sweet and simple. McCloskey's illustrations and text have lasted for at least fifty years, and will undoubtedly last another fifty. Some scenes are absolutely entrancing as well. As Sal walks around a large boulder in search of her misplaced parent, McCloskey's lines display a real sense of human movement. This is such a charming story that I would recommend it to anyone anytime. It is rare to meet the ageless text, but in this book you have exactly that.

Rating:
Summary: our favorite
Review: This book originally found it's way to our house in an old box of kids books that were my husband's as a child. This book has become the favorite book of my 3 year-old. The story is so simple and sweet, and she never tires of it. I've read our tattered old copy over a hundred times, and I still think it's a GREAT book.

Rating:
Summary: For Boys 2
Review: This is a good bedtime book for my two sons (ages 3 & 1 1/2). It has detailed illustrations, good dialog, and is long enough to help them settle down for bed. This book is requested often by my three year old.