Rating: 
Summary: great pictures...like the story less
Review: This book is about a summer at the beach, but it has a dry writing style "In the evening, when the tide is high again, and all yor guests have gone, you row around to the point, feeling lonely..." It is pretty wordy and my children (5 and 8) did not want a it read a second time - that is very unusual for a new book at our house. Something about the story seems boring. I would pass on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Of Hummingbirds and Hurricanes
Review: Time of Wonder is Robert McCloskey's lyrical tribute to the joys of being young in the summertime. The setting is his beloved Maine coast, on Penobscot Bay. The story builds around the approach of the rain, the cycle of the summer, the transition from morning to dark in a single day, and a hurricane. As wonderful as the story is, the illustrations are the highlight of this delightful book. They capture stunning panoramas, wind-swept moments, and gay times in the sun equally well in free flowing watercolors that are as fluid as the wind or the ocean. This book was awarded the Caldecott Medal for the outstanding quality of its illustrations in 1958.Two unnamed girls are overlooking Penobscot Bay, watching the rain form in the distance . . . until they themselves are drenched! Next, a full day evolves from the typical summer fog with sidelights about porpoises, lobstering, gulls, cormorants, the forest and its trees and fiddle-head ferns. Finally, the fog burns off and the scene shifts to bees, hummingbirds, other birds singing, sail boats, fishing boats, seals, the beach, rocks and children playing. Then, as dusk settles in, an owl, a heron, eider ducks, fishhawks, a crab, a rowboat, a flashlight and the stars frame the experience. At each moment, nature holds great adventures and mysteries for the girls to explore and exult in. A seaplane symbolizes the coming and going from the area. The bulk of the people and animals are summer visitors. Suddenly, everyone realizes a big storm is coming. "We're going to have some weather. It's a-coming! She's gonna blow. With the next shift of the tide." There are boats to get ready. Windows need to be secured. People have to go inside. Once there, the rain and wind can still blow their way in. Eventually, the storm ends and the full moon reigns. The next day, the girls inspect the damage and find an old Indian shell heap that probably predates the first European visitors. Then the girls have to help prepare for the next year. They get seaweed to put on as fertilizer for their garden. They pack up. As they leave, they are "A little bit sad about the place you are leaving, a little bit glad about the place your are going." One last thought hits them. "Where do hummingbirds go in a hurricane?" This story does a marvelous job of helping children understand their connection to nature and to the powerful forces around them. Whether they are watching the wind, using it to push their sailboat, or riding out a hurricane, they know that they are a small part of a great scheme. If your child has yet to see many of these animals or scenes, you can use the illustrations to explain them. You will smile when you see the porpoises playing in the wake of the girls' sailboat. A good application of this book is to think of a place where you and your child can go on a regular basis to observe and enjoy nature. It may be a near-by park. It may be a family vacation home. It may be a public beach. Take your child there. Take her by the hand, and show her the easy-to-miss wonders all around. And remember to visit in the fog, rain, and winds, as well as on sunny days. You can take pictures, draw sketches of what you see, and make a scrapbook that contains your thoughts and observations. See beauty and harmony in the balance around you.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book as a child - a beautiful visual treat
Review: Time of Wonder was my absolute favorite book as a child. I hope children today can still be fascinated by the glorious watercolors and beautifully written story, what with Nintendo and the seizure-inducing cartoons that have polluted their culture. Do I sound old-fashioned? I am 24 years old and am having my daily cigarette and glass of wine as I write. Unpolluted I am not, but I truly hope that today's progeny not be denied the joy of books, especially McCloskey's Time of Wonder, the story of two girls waiting out a gently blustering Maine hurricane. The short plot, to this steamy southern girl, was exotic and intriguing, and I can still close my eyes and visualize the soft watercolors of the patchwork quilt the girls used to huddle before the fire, and the brilliant blue of the post-storm ocean. Robert McCloskey will always be a classic children's author. I only hope that today's parents are aware of this, and will allow him to weave his memorable magic for their children.
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