Tessa Takes Wing

by Richard Jackson, Julie Downing (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s almost morning and everyone’s asleep. Everyone except Tessa.

Quiet as a mouse, Tessa takes flight . . . UP . . . UP until she’s flying high above her crib. Her first stop: her sister Maggie’s blue elephant! Then, Maggie’s fire truck . . . and her polka-dot umbrella. But she better be quiet and quick before her daddy hears and stops all her fun!

Follow Tessa on a soaring adventure, one only she and the reader experience, as she flies even higher than she did yesterday, in Tessa Takes Wing, by veteran children’s book editor Richard Jackson with warm, inviting illustrations by Julie Downing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250215116
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	57 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Richard Jackson has been an editor/publisher of children’s books since 1962. He gave the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture in 2005, the year of his official retirement, but is still working in 2016, the year his first picture book appeared: Have a Look, Says Book illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. He wrote In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, which was published by Roaring Brook Press. He lives with his wife and near his grandchildren in Towson, Maryland.

Julie Downing has written and or illustrated over forty books for children, including The Night Before Christmas, Lullaby&Good Night, The Firekeeper's Son, and Nobody, which was published by Roaring Brook Press. She lives in San Francisco, California.

Richard Jackson, co-founder of Bradbury Press, Orchard Books, and DK Ink, has been an editor and publisher since 1962. He is the author of Have A Look, Says Book, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, and lives in Towson, Maryland.

Julie Downing is an internationally published author and illustrator. She has written and or illustrated over 30 books for children.  This San Francisco artist is known for her innovative approach in illustrating traditional stories, and her list of books include; The Night Before Christmas, Lullaby and Goodnight, and The Firekeeper's Son.  Downing has won many awards for her work, including a Parents Choice Award, and the New York Public Library Best Books Award. She was recently selected to appear in Talking with Artists Too, a book about 12 of the nation’s best Children’s’ Book Illustrators.
Downing is most noted for her rich, jewel like watercolor illustrations. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States and England.

Editorial Reviews

05/14/2018
Tessa wakes up just before dawn. “Up,” she says, as babies her age are wont to do. But when no one responds, the plump, round-faced Tessa doesn’t cry or pout. Instead, she sprouts a tiny pair of wings—just like those on the butterflies in her crib mobile—and flies around the house. Never touching the ground, Tessa heads for her older sister’s toys and polka-dotted umbrella, her glee apparent as she plays with what are almost certainly forbidden objects. She reads to Bingo the dog, who seems unsurprised but thoroughly delighted with his little, suddenly aerodynamic owner. She flies back to the crib as the rest of the family stirs at sunrise, but soon she’s “up” again in real life (“up in her high chair... up on Daddy’s shoulders... up, up high in Mama’s arms—almost as if she were flying”). Jackson (Have a Look, Says Book) employs minimal text with zephyr-like wit, and digitized watercolors by Downing (No Hugs Till Saturday) make Tessa’s flight both comically balletic and emotionally real. More poem than story, it’s also a wonderful reminder that everyone is capable of a rich fantasy life. Ages 3–6. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Jackson (Have a Look, Says Book) employs minimal text with zephyr-like wit, and digitized watercolors by Downing (No Hugs Till Saturday) make Tessa’s flight both comically balletic and emotionally real. More poem than story, it’s also a wonderful reminder that everyone is capable of a rich fantasy life."—Publishers Weekly

"What fun!"—Kirkus

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
Toddler-PreS—While the rest of the household is asleep, baby Tessa grows wings, flies up and out of her crib, and, accompanied by the family dog, Bingo, engages in several adventures. It's dark, the moon is still large in the sky, and Tessa's head pops up in her crib. "Up," she says, and, undeterred by the lack of response, sprouts tiny wings and floats across the room. She plays with her sister's toy elephant, fire truck, and umbrella, and even reads some books. Finally, day breaks, and Daddy comes in to scoop Tess up and carry her to breakfast. Now she can be "up" for real—in her high chair, on Daddy's shoulders, and flying in Mama's arms. The illustrations, executed in digitally combined watercolor and colored pencil, usher readers into a darkened, toy-filled bedroom, where Tessa's round head stands out above her red flowered pajamas. The baby's body forms a ball as she floats aloft, and then performs acrobatic stunts clinging to a fire truck ladder. A series of circular vignettes across two pages depict Tessa devising several ways to use her sister's polka-dotted umbrella. There are many humorous touches, including the interactions between Bingo, baby, and books. Alert readers will also notice that older sister Maggie has her own set of wings. VERDICT This fantasy, a delightful pairing of minimal text and humorous illustrations, is sure to be enjoyed by young children and their adults, who just may be convinced that Tessa's mischievous thoughts float in their own little ones' heads.—Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA

School Library Journal

2018-05-23
When the lights are out and everyone is asleep, baby Tessa takes flight—literally!In this whimsical tale, a wee baby with wispy dark hair and just two little teeth lies in her crib asking to be picked up. But no one does. Her older sister lies asleep near her, the lights are out, and the moon is shining. "Goody, she thinks and jumps up herself": Wings have sprouted on her back, and Tessa takes flight, tumbling through the air head over heels, up, up, and away from her crib. Clearly, it's not her first time, and she loves it. She plays with toys, spins a red-and-white umbrella that becomes another instrument of flight, and shares books with Bingo the dog. As dawn nears and Bingo's thump-thumping tail knocks the blocks over, Tessa knows it's time to tidy up and get back to her crib. As the family's day starts, the text plays with the word "up": "Daddy lifts her up," then "everyone is up," she's "up in her high chair," "up on daddy's shoulders," and "up high in Mama's arms." If only they knew how high up Tessa can really go! The book ends as Tessa takes flight again when everyone is napping. The delightful watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations are as whimsical as the story and equally filled with movement. Tessa and her sister both have pale skin and dark hair; Mama has light-brown skin and black hair, while Daddy presents white, suggesting a mixed-race family.Readers may wish they had wings, too. What fun! (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews