The Reading Nook | The Party by Barbara Reid
by Sandra Harris, posted on July 10th, 2012 in The Reading Nook
Did you go to family reunions as a child? Today’s book captures perfectly from a little’s point of view what it’s like to walk into a backyard full of strangers who are anything but by party’s end. It’s a child’s view of a summer’s day when the extended family gets together to celebrate Grandma’s 90th birthday.
Award-winning The Party by Barbara Reid has a 60′s/70′s vibe and will be an absolute treat for the 4-8 year olds in your family.
The book begins with two sisters not at all thrilled about having to go to the party:
Our friends are out playing.
We had to say no.
We’re on our way to the party.
We are stuffed in the car
with a cooler,
some chairs,
a bowl full of dip
and a tin full of squares.
Now here’s the best part – the illustrations. No, they aren’t drawn or painted, they are created out of plasticine – yes, plasticine. The level of detail is incredible. Take a closer look.
Did you know what you wanted to do for paid work when you were 11 years old? Author Barbara Reid did – she decided to be a writer when she won a creative writing contest in sixth grade. And she first experimented with plasticine illustrations for a college art school assignment. Lucky for us readers!
The book ends with the sisters happy and tired and full of good memories of family:
It’s way past our bedtime.
The streetlights are on.
We load up the car
and we try not to yawn.
Oh, what a great time,
what a wonderful time,
such a very late time at the party.
So read The Party and remember your own family get-togethers. And why not pull out the plasticine with your kids and see what pictures you can make “for good memberings” as my daughter calls them.
