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Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Averbeck | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | AVERBECK | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | BEDTIME AVERBECK | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Willamina Public Library | JP Averbeck, J. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Alice is wide, wide awake. Mama brings flowers, tea, a quilt, even lullaby bells to help her sleep. But none of these things are blue, and Alice can sleep only in a blue room. Yet when the light goes out, a bit of magic is stirred up. Pale blue moonlight swirls into her bedroom window. Then the night swirls out, around the moon and into the universe, leaving Alice fast alseep in a most celestial blue room.
Author Notes
JIM AVERBECK makes his picture-book debut with In a Blue Room. He lives in San Francisco, California. TRICIA TUSA has illustrated more than fifty books for children, including her own Camilla's New Hairdo. She lives in Galisteo, New Mexico. TRICIA TUSA has written and illustrated many wonderful picture books, including In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck; Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou; The Magic Hat by Mem Fox; The End of the Beginning by Avi; and her own Follow Me .
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-This dreamy bedtime book doesn't have a single unnecessary word. Alice bounces on her bed, wide awake and making demands. She will only sleep in a room in which everything is blue. Mama brings in flowers, a cup of tea, and an extra quilt. Each time, the child queries the not-blueness, but Mama whispers "Smell." "Taste." "Touch." And when the light finally clicks off, the moonlight streams in, and in its light, everything is blue, and Alice is-fast asleep. Tusa's illustrations, done in ink, watercolor, and gouache, show a child progressing from Pippi Longstocking-like energy, through acceptance, drowsiness, and finally sleep. Their soft colors and simple lines are perfectly suited to the simplicity of the language. This lovely book works well as a one-on-one bedtime read, but it would also be the perfect final selection for a pajama storytime.-Marian Drabkin, formerly at Richmond Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
If bedtime books were dances, this one would be a pas de deux: prose and pictures partner each other effortlessly all the way to the last page. At first, Alice doesn't look like a candidate for bed; she's in her nightgown, but she has leapt into midair, her blue blanket a billowing parachute, her room a pleasant mayhem of dolls and crayons. " 'Blue is my favorite,' " Alice announces as Mama, robed and slippered, carries in a vase of flowers. " 'And those--aren't--blue,'" Alice adds, punctuating each word, the reader senses, with a bounce (by now, only the bottom of Alice's nightgown and her stockinged feet are visible as the rest of her jumps out of view). " 'Ah... but smell,' " Mama counters. Mama offers Alice more ritual things: tea to taste (" 'Blue tea?' says Alice, 'There's no such thing' "), a quilt to feel, bells to listen to. They're not blue, either, Alice protests, but she's fading; in each successive painting she looks sleepier, her toys floppier, her bed snugglier. The rhythm of the words soothes: "In a blue room, orange tea cools in a brown cup"; "In a blue room, a quilt of red and green feels warm and cozy." These references to a blue room are a little odd: Alice's walls are yellow. " 'The moon... Mama,' " Alice murmurs, and Mama whispers, " 'Here it comes.' " Click! The lamp goes off, and Alice's room is transformed, bathed in the blue light of a full moon. Tusa's (Mrs. Spitzer's Garden) pictures, on single pages before, now expand to fill both. Alice's room is blue, and so are the flowers, the tea, the quilt, the bells, all just as Alice said. The stars and planets on Alice's blue blanket travel out the window and up into the sky; everything merges. Tusa appears to have breathed in first-time author Averbeck's text and then breathed it out as pictures. The final appearance of the blue room, which sounded so impossible at first, will feel to children like a promise kept. Ages 3-7. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
I can only sleep in a blue room," says Alice, awake past her bedtime. Using flowers, tea, an extra quilt, and gentle "lullaby bells," Mama eventually coaxes her to sleep. The moon bathes the cozy bedroom in blue, beautifully shown in the delicate and expressive watercolor, ink, and gouache images that illustrate the soothing text. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
It's time for Alice to go to sleep--it's past bedtime, in fact--but as Alice explains, blue is her favorite color, and she can only sleep in a blue room. To help her relax, Mama first brings flowers. As Alice points out, they aren't blue. "Ah . . . but smell," Mama says. Alice breathes in the white and purple flowers and begins to settle down. Next Mama brings tea. It's not blue, but with Mama's patient encouragement, Alice tries it and rubs her eyes. A soft green quilt has Alice snuggling in, and yellow bells tinkle in the evening air. Now it's time for the moon to arrive, and as Mama turns off the light, it bathes the room in blue. The quilt is blue now, as are the bells, the moon, sleeping Alice and, at last, the room. A comforting story of mother and child, this will make an excellent bedtime read and an inventive introduction to color as well. Adrift in sleepy hues, the engaging watercolor-and-ink illustrations are the perfect touch. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In a blue room, / Alice bounces, / wide-awake past bedtime. And Alice is firm in her desire to sleep only in a room that's blue, so when Mama brings in violets and lilywhites, Alice protests until she sniffs them. And even though the tea is orange, a sip makes her drowsy, and the green quilt is comfy and warm. It's not until the lights are off and moonlight bathes everything in blue that Alice gets her wish. Debut author Averbeck provides a spare, charming text for the talented Tusa to work her artistic magic. The ink, watercolor, and gouache artwork keeps its eye on Alice while incorporating whimsy and suffusing the pictures with love. There's just one problem: Alice's room is not blue it's yellow and although this may be artistic irony, literal little ones will note the discrepancy. The night spreads are so comforting, though, young listeners will be soon nestling under covers.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2008 Booklist