Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | EASY MCC | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY MCC | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
When Simon's older sister, Adèle, picks him up from school, he has his hat and gloves and scarf and sweater, his coat and knapsack and books and crayons, and a drawing of a cat he made that morning. Adèle makes Simon promise to try not to lose anything. But as they make their way home, distractions cause Simon to leave something behind at every stop. What will they tell their mother?
Detailed pen-and-ink drawings - filled with soft watercolors - make a game of this unforgettable tour through the streets and scenes of early-twentieth-century Paris. Illustrated endpapers extend the fun by replicating a 1907 Baedeker map of Paris.
Adèle & Simon is a 2006 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Author Notes
The American geneticist Barbara McClintock was trained as a botanist, receiving a Ph.D. in botany from Cornell University (1927). McClintock discovered anomalies in pigmentation and other features of corn (Zea Mays) that led her to question the prevailing model of the chromosome as a linear arrangement of fixed genes. Her model of the chromosome involved a process of "transposition." In this process, the chromosome released genes and groups of genes from their original positions (this subprocess is named "dislocation") and reinserted them into new positions.
Although her original research was published in the 1930's and 1940's, it was not until research in molecular biology confirmed her theories that she received wide professional recognition. McClintock was elected to the National Academy at the age of 42 and was elected president of the Genetics Society of America a year later. She received many honorary degrees and other awards, including the Lasker Award and a Nobel Prize. McClintock died after a brief illness at the Carnegie Institution's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, where she had lived and worked for 50 years.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this nostalgic charmer, McClintock (Dahlia) imagines a walking tour of Paris circa 1900, traced by two distractible siblings on their way home from school. (The endpapers, taken from a 1907 Baedeker map, chart the roundabout route.) When Adele greets Simon, "He [has] his hat and gloves and scarf and sweater, his coat and knapsack and books and crayons, and a drawing of a cat he'd made that morning." Despite his sister's pleading that he keep track of his possessions, Simon loses everything on the list. At a market, closely observed from a bird's eye-view, vendors sell carrots, books, birds and baskets, and Simon misplaces his drawing. Sharp-eyed readers might locate the boy's picture, but the siblings do not. Adele and Simon move on to the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Jardin du Luxembourg, where they watch the Punch and Judy show and a parade of the Republican Guard. Simon drops a belonging at every stop, but in the reassuring conclusion, a queue of watchful people arrives at the children's home to return the goods. In illustrations that mimic hand-colored engravings, McClintock pictures orange autumn foliage against pale blue-gray skies. She depicts every detail with precision and warmth, from architecture and cobblestones to horses, early automobiles and period clothing. An afterword with thumbnail images identifies each location and allusions to Daumier, Atget and a few Impressionists (other allusions, such as one to Madeline, are left to discover). McClintock scores a double coup, creating a must-see for francophiles and an engaging hide-and-seek game for homebodies. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Each day, Adele fetches her little brother from school. This is a difficult task since, as they wend a circuitous path through Paris, Simon is so fascinated by such sights as a parade, a puppet show, and his favorite painting in the Louvre that, one at a time, he loses his numerous possessions (hat, gloves, books, crayons, satchel, sweater, and more). Alert readers will find both children and Simon's lost things in meticulously detailed spreads of early twentieth-century Paris, its occupants elegantly clad, gardens lush, pastries tempting. For the curious, there are endnotes on the settings (""the gallery of paleontology in the Mus+um National d'Histoire Naturelle was built in 1898 and is considered a masterpiece of metal architecture""); an endpaper map (from the 1907 Baedeker) locates the children's route to ten sites. There's an extra fillip to the game, too: though Simon gets home empty-handed, his belongings soon follow, brought by a parade of characters to be discovered by careful re-examination of all the illustrations, adding one more dimension to a surefire formula. With its cozy, Kate Greenaway flavor and many minutiae to discover, this will be especially nice to share one on one. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. "Please try not to lose anything today," Adele implores her little brother, Simon, as they begin their walk home from school. She might as well have asked the sun not to rise in the East, for at each stop along the way Simon loses something: first a drawing he had made, then his books, then one of his gloves. And so it goes until the children finally arrive at home, where Mama discovers that Simon has lost everything0 ! But who can blame him? After all, the setting is Paris in the early twentieth century, and there are simply so many wonderful distractions en route that it's a miracle the children make it home at all. As for young listeners, they'll want to peruse the endpaper maps (by Baedeker) to follow the children's peregrinations through the busy City of Light and linger over McClintock's meticulous double-page depictions of Parisian neighborhoods and landmarks, identified in charming, informative endnotes. McClintock's beautifully restrained use of color may evoke a long-ago time, but her compositions are so dynamic that there's always something for contemporary children to discover. --Michael Cart Copyright 2006 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-When Ad?le meets her younger brother after school, she cautions him not to lose anything on the way home. The children take a leisurely route, visiting friends, a street market, a park, and two museums. Predictably, Simon leaves an item (his drawing, hat, knapsack, glove) behind at each location. Set in Paris during the early 20th century, this simple story is the basis for some remarkable illustrations. McClintock's pen-and-ink with watercolor technique has the feel of illustrated children's books from that period. The retro effect is accented by an old-fashioned typeface, creamy paper, and wide borders around the spreads. The children's route is traced on the endpapers-a map of Paris from 1907. Each stop is based on a real place, some immediately recognizable, such as the Louvre and Notre-Dame. McClintock's research is described in wonderfully detailed endnotes. For example, in the picture of the bustling street market, the groupings of people are based on works by Honor? Daumier and Eug?ne Atget. In the Louvre, Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt help Simon find his crayons. Readers will enjoy the visual game of hide-and-seek; the more they look, the more they can find. A beautiful example of bookmaking, with plenty to charm children, this is a visual delight.-Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Set against scenes of early 20th-century Paris, this engaging, reverse cumulative story follows a girl and her young brother when she picks him up from school. Adèle cautions Simon, "Try not to lose anything today." But at each stop, Simon loses something: his cat drawing at the grocer's, his school books when he climbs a tree, his scarf in the natural history museum, a glove at the outdoor puppet show, his hat at the parade, his crayons in the art museum and his knapsack in the pastry shop. Each item is subtly hidden in the pen-and-ink illustrations and unsurprisingly, they are all returned to Simon at the end. This delightful combination of Where's Waldo, Arthur Geisert-like chain reactions and delicate, fine lines that richly detail the scenes is as enjoyable as a chocolate croissant. Attention has been paid to every design detail from the endpaper maps taken from the 1907 edition of Baedeker's Paris and Environs (with the location of the ten lost items noted), to a salute to Madeline, to comic touches like a dog wearing Simon's coat, to the two-page legend that describes each actual Parisian site and location. Très magnifique! (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
