Round Trip

Sweet chiaroscuro surrealism for chilluns. I like that you turn the book over, I like that it's inventive, I like that it evokes the childhood drive into the city at night, where you don't know where you're going and everything you see out the window is a brief ecstatic flash of mystery, and I even like that the flip-drawings don't work 100%, and leave some weird bits sticking out for, you know, Verfremdung.

Martin McCarvell, Library Thing Review, June 29, 2009
Sweet chiaroscuro surrealism for chilluns. I like that you turn the book over, I like that it's inventive, I like that it evokes the childhood drive into the city at night, where you don't know where you're going and everything you see out the window is a brief ecstatic flash of mystery, and I even like that the flip-drawings don't work 100%, and leave some weird bits sticking out for, you know, Verfremdung.

I remember reading this book (along with Donald Crews' Freight Train and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) to my younger brother in the '90s, and wasn't able to remember enough about it to find it again...until I mentioned Kate Messner and Brian Biggs' new book, The Whale's Tale and the Otter Side of the Story, in my children's literature book group, and it reminded someone of Round Trip. Bingo! This black-and-white book is designed to be read one way, then turned upside down and read the other way; it's like if M.C. Escher had made a picture book.

This interesting and unique book tells the story of a day trip through the country and into the city. The black and white artwork is simple, but what sets this book apart is that once the reader reaches the end, the book is flipped over and the story continues with new text to go along with the now inverted pictures. This clever format challenges the reader to think about their own perception of the images.

Round trip is the story of a trip to the city that starts early in the day. All the scenery described is depicted by black and white very simple images. They make it to the city and then they spend some time there before turning back around to go home at sunset. In order to keep reading the story at this point, you have to turn the book upside down and read backward through the book. Much to your surprise a whole new image emerges once you view the pictures upside down, and you will find yourself in awe of the difference perspective makes.

This book was so fun to experience, it was more than just reading some words, it was a definite experience. I continued to flip the book up and down to compare and contrast the flipped images. I was show more also surprised to see that this book was already more than 30 years old, it seemed so modern and relevant to illustration trends I have seen recently. I guess it is a timeless work of art, and could be especially relevant as an art lesson. show less

What a clever book! Illustrated in black and white, Round Trip describes a road trip past the coast and into the city. When the sun sets and it is time to return home, readers flip the book upside down and the story continues from the back to the front of the book. The same illustrations, when viewed upside down, paint a different picture - a movie theater becomes a restaurant, a bridge becomes a row of telephone poles, and so on. The story isn't complex, but the flipped perspective will wow kids.

A bold black-and-white journey to the city and back again, with an art style almost reminiscent of Peter Max. While I thought the visuals were bold and appealing, I wasn't 100% convinced they could all read two ways. A class of third graders thought it was mind-blowingly awesome, though.