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Summary
Summary
Open or close, front or back, empty or full? Take a look at opposites you might notice walking city streets, biking by the sea, or even relaxing in your own backyard, and decide for yourself.
Author Notes
Tana Hoban was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has also lived in Holland and England. Hoban graduated from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia in 1938, and painted in Europe as a recipient of the John Frederick Lewis Fellowship. When she returned to Philadelphia, she worked as a free-lance advertising artist and magazine illustrator. By 1950 her work was included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and in 1953 she was the only woman mentioned in a Time magazine portfolio on "Half a Century of U.S. Photography." In 1959 she was named one of the Top Ten Women Photographers by the Professional Photographers of America.
Hoban worked as an instructor in photography at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania from 1966 to 1968. In 1967 she produced and filmed Catsup, an award-winning film which was shown at the Venice Film Festival. By 1955, she had written a book on photographing children, and in 1970 she combined her skills as a photographer with her interest in children to produce her first juvenile picture book, Shapes and Things. In 1973, Hoban served as project photographer for Beginning Concepts, a series of sound filmstrips produced by Scholastic Magazines, Inc. From 1974 to 1976 she taught photography at New York University.
As of 1990, five of her books had been listed as ALA Notables. She has received awards for her entire body of work three separate times. In 1991, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from her alma mater, the Moore College of Art. Her works are included in the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, among other collections in both the United States and France.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Hoban has done it again. Using a variety of people, animals, and objects found in outdoor settings of both the city and the country, she introduces and expands on the concept of opposites in this wordless photographic book. The photographs are clear, bright, and enticing. Pairs of opposites are presented on facing pages; some are repeated and thus reinforced. For instance, in one set of two girls playing with a wagon, there are the opposites of push/pull, in/out, left/right, and back/front. As with all of Hoban's books, readers are asked to view their environment in a new light while learning a new concept. A worthy addition to any collection. --Martha Topol, Interlochen Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The prolific master of the preschool photo-essay has produced another winner in which, as the title succinctly states, she wordlessly explores opposites. In 13 contrasting spreads framed by equally effective first- and last-page single photos, Hoban represents such ideas as closed/open, intact/ broken, big/little, front/back, hot/cold, up/down, tied/untied and more. The vivid color pictures are well composed, and often so intriguingly detailed that the viewer might even forget the book's ``point.'' But as is often the case with Hoban, her photographic prowess alone is worth the price of the book. Ages 2-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Uncaptioned pairs of gloriously colored photographs provoke thought and discussion on the subject of opposites; as a challenge, some of the pictures include more than one concept. Every time children approach the double-page spreads, they will discover something new. Practical for sharing with a group and for individual browsing. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Again selecting an intriguing variety of subjects from city and country--and presenting both animate and inanimate objects with a delightful use of color--this fine photographer pairs uncaptioned images that explore the concept of opposites. Sometimes the ideas are simple: the same gate, open or shut, though even this pair extends an idea from the previous page--an open and closed hand that also represent left and right. Some of the multiple ideas are subtle enough to provoke discussion: Is a swimming duck the opposite of a diving duck? Or is this pair merely a reiteration of the head/tail pairing already introduced with two views of a sheep? Beautiful, elegantly composed, nourishing to eye and mind. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 2-6. The terrific title and the turquoise hightops on the jacket show right from the start that Hoban knows how to draw children into a concept book and challenge them to think on more than one level. Pairs of clear and vivid color photographs appear on facing pages, most of the images similar to and yet different from their opposites: an open gate, a closed gate; two upright baskets of eggs, the same baskets tipped over, their eggs broken; children ascending a stone staircase, the same children coming down. Apart from their use in teaching the concept of opposites, the illustrations could be used to inspire imaginative tales or, for older children, creative writing. A story seems to lie behind each image, as if it were a still frame from a film. While Hoban never limits herself to the mundane, even everyday scenes seem to take on more significance when viewed through her lens. ~--Carolyn Phelan
