Martin Provensen (1916–1987)

Many of us have a book or two from their early childhood that we seek out as adults with memories based on half-remembered (and frequently misremembered) details. This picture book was one of mine, and I just found it! The only particulars I had to work off of were 1) an illustration of an ice-skating boy positioned with his skates perpendicular to one another (incidentally, this gave me the conviction that this is how one skated), and 2) the last page depicted a garden archway covered in show more flowers.

As for the book itself, it's a joyful look at all the fun things there are to do as the seasons change (assuming you live in a clime with changing seasons). The illustrations are cute, and I'm delighted to have successfully hunted it down, despite it being out of print and not having aged well with respect to diverse representation. show less

At first I did not like this book, it seemed like it looked down on poor people. But I think it’s just matter of fact. I don’t generally see representation of families who live this way, with yards that are not sterile and empty.

It addresses how people do treat people on “the wrong sides of the tracks”. It also addresses eminent domain. The erasure of the working poor and pushing aside of them is not something I’ve commonly found either. I would pair this with The Little House by show more Virginia Lee Burton. show less

Which is a very fancy way of saying "Pop-up Book".

Chalk it up to a pop-up deprived childhood if you'd like but I'm a grown woman who loves pop up books. I've also had life long fascination with Da Vinci because he was a genius artistically and scientifically, putting him in a class of his own.

So, a Da Vinci pop-up book? Yes, please! I heard about this one years ago and have been on the lookout for it ever since. I lucked out and it arrived earlier this week and I can't stop looking at it.
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I finally actually read all 12 pages today; the writing is skewed towards 10 year olds, if I had to guess, but who cares? It's beautiful! It pops up! show less

I like the fact the story is told through the eyes of his son. That brought an unexpected interest to the narrative. The illustrative and the text fit well, ,somehow harking back to the early 1900s. It still doesn't quite capture my interest, but I see its appeal.