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 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.… (more)

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 Virginia Lee Burton.… (more)