Monday is one day

*Starred Review* Ideal for families with working parents and that's pretty much everyone now, right? Levine's cozy ode to counting down to the weekend should provide some solace to the lonely: The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you. / Let's count the days till we're both at home with a special thing to do. Levine smartly doesn't put all of his eggs in the weekend basket, pausing to focus upon special moments of togetherness wherever they happen to fall: at breakfast, while getting on the bus, when the parents return at night, and during family time on the sofa. The diversity extends to geography; the town, seen in full on the title page, includes metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas, and families from each region share the spotlight. Hector's grinning cartoon-style illustrations are delightful, based in reality but accented with unexpected color, such as the carnival stripes of a farmer's distant field. But the book's greatest accomplishment might be its crosssection of middle America: white, black, old, young, white-collar, blue-collar, straight, and gay (and scandal! the gay couple is pictured hanging out in the bedroom). It's that rare book perceptive enough to recognize that the random moments are those we treasure most.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist

Most working parents of young children will be on board with Levine (All the Lights in the Night) from the very first line of his new book: "The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you." So how do kids and grownups make waiting for the weekend less onerous? Levine suggests assigning a special value to each day of the workweek: "Monday is one day:/ One safe snuggly cuddle./ Tuesday's blue shoes day:/ Two stomps in a puddle"). Wednesday is "halfway day" and Friday cleverly becomes (for male parents at least) "last-tie day," with the choice left up to the child. Hector's (The Gentleman Bug) strong, sure ink lines, bold colors, and subtle textures invite readers into a variety of homes and families (urban and rural, black and white, gay and straight), while conveying a domestic world of solidity and warmth. In these high-achieving, resume-building times, it's refreshing to see a book that believes that life is not about what you do but who you come home to-and how you enjoy your time together. Ages 3-5. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 2-While it is difficult for parents who work outside the home to part from their children, Levine assures youngsters that a work week does eventually end, and that each day affords an opportunity for some special time together. Monday allows for "one safe snuggly cuddle," Tuesday for "two stomps in a puddle," and so on until the weekend arrives with time for more extended activities. Readers will enjoy the brief, rhyming text, printed in different colors that match the artist's palette, and the invitation to "count the days" (and objects pictured). But there is much more for them to glean from the mixed-media cartoon illustrations, mostly spreads, offering aerial and close-up views of the town and its inhabitants. The cover alludes to the cyclical nature of time as it portrays the different family constellations that appear within the book. Youngsters are subtly introduced to diverse ethnic representation, grandparents as primary caregivers, a child who has two fathers, and single parents, with a reprise of all the families in a park scene at the end. From breaking dawn to sunrise to the rising of the moon in the evening, whether they work in an office, on a farm, or engage in other kinds of labor, these adults share their love for their children and eagerness to spend time with them. This is a fine vehicle for discussion of different family groupings, kinds of work, and separation anxiety.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An omniscient narrator standing in for any mom or dad counts down the work days until week's end, when (most) children can spend time with their parents. This rhyming book about parental love manages to pull heartstrings without being maudlin. Hector tenderly depicts six families so different in composition and appearance that most every reader will see his or her reality reflected. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* Ideal for families with working parents—and that's pretty much everyone now, right?—Levine's cozy ode to counting down to the weekend should provide some solace to the lonely: "The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you. / Let's count the days till we're both at home with a special thing to do." Levine smartly doesn't put all of his eggs in the weekend basket, pausing to focus upon special moments of togetherness wherever they happen to fall: at breakfast, while getting on the bus, when the parents return at night, and during family time on the sofa. The diversity extends to geography; the town, seen in full on the title page, includes metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas, and families from each region share the spotlight. Hector's grinning cartoon-style illustrations are delightful, based in reality but accented with unexpected color, such as the carnival stripes of a farmer's distant field. But the book's greatest accomplishment might be its crosssection of middle America: white, black, old, young, white-collar, blue-collar, straight, and gay (and—scandal!—the gay couple is pictured hanging out in the bedroom). It's that rare book perceptive enough to recognize that the random moments are those we treasure most. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Most working parents of young children will be on board with Levine (All the Lights in the Night) from the very first line of his new book: "The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you." So how do kids and grownups make waiting for the weekend less onerous? Levine suggests assigning a special value to each day of the workweek: "Monday is one day:/ One safe snuggly cuddle./ Tuesday's blue shoes day:/ Two stomps in a puddle"). Wednesday is "halfway day" and Friday cleverly becomes (for male parents at least) "last-tie day," with the choice left up to the child. Hector's (The Gentleman Bug) strong, sure ink lines, bold colors, and subtle textures invite readers into a variety of homes and families (urban and rural, black and white, gay and straight), while conveying a domestic world of solidity and warmth. In these high-achieving, résumé-building times, it's refreshing to see a book that believes that life is not about what you do but who you come home to—and how you enjoy your time together. Ages 3–5. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 2—While it is difficult for parents who work outside the home to part from their children, Levine assures youngsters that a work week does eventually end, and that each day affords an opportunity for some special time together. Monday allows for "one safe snuggly cuddle," Tuesday for "two stomps in a puddle," and so on until the weekend arrives with time for more extended activities. Readers will enjoy the brief, rhyming text, printed in different colors that match the artist's palette, and the invitation to "count the days" (and objects pictured). But there is much more for them to glean from the mixed-media cartoon illustrations, mostly spreads, offering aerial and close-up views of the town and its inhabitants. The cover alludes to the cyclical nature of time as it portrays the different family constellations that appear within the book. Youngsters are subtly introduced to diverse ethnic representation, grandparents as primary caregivers, a child who has two fathers, and single parents, with a reprise of all the families in a park scene at the end. From breaking dawn to sunrise to the rising of the moon in the evening, whether they work in an office, on a farm, or engage in other kinds of labor, these adults share their love for their children and eagerness to spend time with them. This is a fine vehicle for discussion of different family groupings, kinds of work, and separation anxiety.—Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT