Kids will enjoy this book because each time you read the stories, a different meaning occurs. The writing is creative and arranged imaginatively according to the words. There are some larger vocabulary words that may need to be looked up, such as avalanche, embankment, and udder. Because of the four stories and strange situations, this book would probably be more appropriate for more advanced readers in 2nd and 3rd grade. I even had to read it four times to figure out the stories and how they're related.


Particularly lovely   December 30, 2003
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I enjoyed this book. Not knowing what to expect, my husband and I read each of the four stories individually. After finishing one we'd start over and begin with another. Macauley should be lauded for the different modes of art he employs, if nothing else. The watercolor illustrations of a boy on a train differ nicely from the pen and ink drawings of the two kids and their crazy parents. Most enjoyable, perhaps, is the series of train station commuters, waiting for the train and slowly going mad. Kids will enjoy following the escaped criminal (complete with black mask and black & white striped shirt) as he runs from story to story throughout the book. This would not read especially well to a large group of children, seeing as how the pictures are particularly small and difficult to follow from a distance. Also some of these stories lack words altogether. But individual children will enjoy finding new and different details in each of the four tales. Altogether, a fascinating book.


A Brilliant Example of Why a Picture Is Worth 1000 Words   April 20, 2001
 28 out of 28 found this review helpful

This book clearly deserves more than five stars for its brilliant plot, fascinating design, terrific illustrations, and thought-provoking premise. This book will stretch the imagination and thinking of anyone who sees it, no matter of what age or intellect. And the process of doing the thinking will be enormous good fun.

The book starts with a warning. "This book appears to contain a number of stories that do not necessarily occur at the same time." Then you get hints. It might contain more than one story, or it might be four stories, or then again, four parts of one story. "Careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended." You will be a story detective, not unlike someone trying to solve a crime after the fact.

Each page is divided into four stories, each of which generally takes up one-fourth of the page. They are located in the same position relative to one another so you can keep the story thread you are following straight. Each has a title.

"Seeing Things" is about a boy taking his first train trip alone. After a long, mysterious delay, he arrives at a large station to be greeted by his parents. His mother sympathizes with his difficult journey.

"Problem Parents" relates how perfectly normal, hard-working parents return from commuting to work one night wearing costumes made out of newspapers. Soon, they have their children costumed this way too.

"A Waiting Game" shows a crowd of adults waiting for the commuter train on an outdoor platform. Pretty soon they get bored, and the fun begins.

"Udder Chaos" starts with a cow licking a man in a convict suit, and shows how cattle provide camouflage for themselves and everything around them.

An occasional element from one of the stories crosses over, and shows up in another story. From these tiny steps, you can begin to unravel the tangled plot.

The book earned the Caldecott Medal for the best illustrated children's book in 1991. I think this is outstandingly illustrated, even for a Caldecott winner. The images carry the story much more than the occasional words do. Without the fascinating visual display of the book's concept, there would be no story here that you could unravel.

Upon rereading, you and your child will grasp additional meaning in the images and words. This will give you a lot to talk and think about. As such, you will welcome this over all of the books where you read the same story in the same way, over ... and ... over ... and ... over ... again.

One of the most difficult things for a child to learn is how subjective perception is. I think this book is terrific for making that point, and helping to create an appreciation for clear communication. I suggest that every family with children purchase and regularly read this book.

After you have enjoyed this book many times, I suggest that you think about where else a partial story is presented. For example, you and your child might go to a train station or airport and watch the people. You could make up stories about what you see. Then, I suggest that you go up and interview the people to hear what they think their story is.

Find the harmony, under the muddied surface of subjective, unfocused perception!