Mayfly Hardcover – March 9, 2004

Description

From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 3-The joys of revisiting a special place are delightfully explored in this simple story. It's the end of the school year and a mother, three children, and their dog prepare to leave their apartment in a busy city for the family cottage. "Good-bye to streets and stores and buses. Good-bye to so many windows. Hello to summer." Packing the same things, stopping at the same restaurant for lunch, opening up the cabin, and unpacking the car are all a part of the ritual. The family revels in familiar outdoor activities like swimming, rocking in a hammock, rowing in the Mayfly, picking blueberries, climbing trees, cooking out, etc. As autumn approaches, it's time to "Sit for a last while on the dock. Listen to the crickets, hear the water lapping.- Say good-bye to summer" and then head back home for new shoes and a new school year. Jocelyn uses paper, fabric, fringe, and cord to create interesting multidimensional collages that capture the exuberance of the narrative.Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, ILCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist PreS-Gr. 2. When school is out for the summer, three siblings and their dog pile into the backseat of the family car and leave for their rustic cabin by the water; they return to the city in time for school. In between, Jocelyn mounts a montage of activities, sights, and sensations that define the summer for the children: "picking blueberries . . . chasing snakes . . . rowboat. . . cribbage . . . dragonflies . . . outhouse . . . scratches, blisters, sunburn, bruises . . . tent nights." The artwork is skillfully done in paper-and-fabric collage. Near the end, a double-page spread featuring white-bordered, deckle-edge photos in black and white (also done in paper collage) makes an unusual and visually interesting addition, but its period look gives the book a memoir quality. Though there's little sense of narrative or characters or parental presence in the book, this accomplished Canadian writer/illustrator re-creates the arc of the children's summer and the outdoor pleasures of summer at "the cabin." Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Read more From the Inside Flap School is over! Hurry, pack up all your summer clothes (don't forget your bathing suit!), load everything into the car, and find a spot in the backseat. Summer is about to begin.The siblings in Marthe Jocelyn's new picture book can't wait to get to the cottage. The smell of pine needles, the first swim off the dock, playing summer games, and greeting their old friend, the rowboat Mayfly, are among the summer fun that young readers will identify with.Delightfully illustrated with Jocelyn's signature collages, "Mayfly captures the incomparable excitement of the beginning of summer vacation and those seemingly endless days that follow, which children (and grown-ups) look forward to all year round. Read more About the Author Marthe Jocelyn is an award-winning author and illustrator who worked for many years as a toy designer before turning her hand to writing. Her second picture book, Hannah’s Collections, was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Literary Award for illustration. She has created four picture books using cloth and paper collages, and has written five novels for older readers, including Mable Riley, which will also release this Spring. Marthe Jocelyn lives in New York City and Stratford, Ontario with her artist husband, Tom Slaughter, and their daughters. Read more