A Child's Calendaris a great way to introduce your child to the rewards of reading poetry.

Thus begins this revised and strikingly reillustrated book, first published in 1965. Updike's graphic text is a mental feast for young and old. Hyman's illustrations, homey and rich, follow one family and its pets through the seasons. New details catch the eye with every read. Be it words or pictures, each student will relate to at least something in this handsome offering.

Gr 1-5-A year in New England as seen through a child-focused lens. Month by month, season by season, the poet's words and the expressive paintings create images that are reflective and playful, perceptive and pleasing. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

PreS-Gr 3-John Updike reads each of his 12 poems celebrating everyday life month by month (Holiday House, 1999) at a deliberate, measured pace. Background music plays lightly, changing with each piece to reflect the season, month, holiday, etc. that is being presented. Appropriate sound effects such as crunching snow and geese honking add texture to the even reading. The accompanying book features colorful watercolor illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman portraying the activities of a multiracial Vermont family. The slow-paced narration has little inflection and may not hold the interest of the youngest children. This read-along is a good way to introduce poetry and teach the months of the year.-Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Updike has revised a set of 12 short poems, one per month, first published in 1965, and Hyman's busy, finely detailed scenes replace the original edition's illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. The verses are written in a child's voice—"The chickadees/Grow plump on seed/That Mother pours/Where they can feed"—and commemorate seasonal weather, flowers, food, and holidays. In the paintings a multiracial, all-ages cast does the same in comfortable, semi-rural New England surroundings, sitting at a table cutting out paper hearts, wading through reeds with a net under a frog's watchful eye, picnicking, contemplating a leafless tree outside for "November" and a decorated one inside for "December." The thoughts and language are slightly elevated but not beyond the ken of children, and the pictures enrich the poetry with specific, often amusing, incidents. (Poetry. 6-10)

"Updike's poetry and Hyman's glowing illustrations lovingly portray a year in the life of a child . . . in this gem."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Each evocative illustration has its own story to tell, celebrating the small moments in children's lives with clarity and sensitivity, with empathy and joy.  A beautifully illustrated edition of Updike's poems for children."—Booklist

"The language and illustrations are . . . vibrantly alive enough to keep young readers occupied through more than one reading."—Publishers Weekly

"Updike's poems are sometimes pretty, sometimes playful, and always evocative, while Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations not only complement the verse, but add their own layers of meaning and wit. . . . A truly timeless book about time."—Bruce Handy, author of Wild Things

Updike’s 12 poems celebrate the changing seasons with images that might catch a child’s eye. His verses, some of which are very lovely, focus on changes in the natural world (from snow to mud to crocuses) and on celebrations that accompany these changes (Christmas, Valentine's, Fourth of July). Each verse ends with a sound image that connects to the month’s poem (such as the sound of fireworks or baseball heard on TV). Updike’s presentation is earnest. While he sometimes overemphasizes line breaks in his poems, he has a kind voice and reads carefully, allowing time for children to enjoy the lovely gem-like illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine