Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-This is a wordbook, but much more. It is a lesson in the history and culture of New York City, 1939. Through Cassie, from Tar Beach (Crown, 1991), Ringgold presents a simple exploration of the child's life. In the well-patterned layout, readers see the roof of her apartment house, her bedroom, her block, her classroom, and her neighborhood. Two spreads introduce each area. One side of the first spread has a sentence such as, "Cassie's school is a good place to learn and have fun." The opposite side has a second explanatory sentence above a block of nine labeled pictures, laid out like a small quilt, that show things in the school, like "Classmates," "Teacher," and "Apple." The next spread takes those nine words and puts them into the classroom, so that students, the teacher, the apple, and the six other words reappear in that spread in action. The era and place come to life in Ringgold's boldly colored, heavily outlined paintings that show busy streets, Cassie's orderly multiracial classroom, the details of her neighborhood such as the grocer selling a quart of milk for six cents, a horse-drawn fruit stand, and a hand-pushed ice cart. Sentences and vocabulary are simple enough for beginning readers to handle on their own, but the book is also a wonderful vehicle for one-on-one sharing and classroom use.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Faith Ringgold returns to Tar Beach for Cassie's Word Quilt as the heroine takes readers on a tour of her home, neighborhood and school. Beginning with an upper and lower case alphabet on the endpapers, the volume introduces each theme in an illustration bordered by Ringgold's signature quilting, then specific vignettes follow on the opposite page. For instance, "Cassie's bedroom has many colorful clothes" appears above a grid of nine items (bed, dresser, doll, etc.) in a 3x3 formation. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

“This is a wordbook, but much more. A wonderful vehicle for one-on-one sharing and classroom use.”—"School Library Journal"
“Vibrant and friendly, this will make pre-reading skill development fun.”—"Booklist"