Down the Road

by Alice Schertle, E B Lewis (Illustrator)

Overview

With beautiful watercolors from Caldecott Honor artist E. B. Lewis, Alice Schertle's Down the Road is a touching picture book not to be missed.

Sometimes Hetty walked with Mama down the dusty road. Sometimes she walked with Papa. But Hetty had never, ever been allowed down the dusty road all by herself.

Eggs for breakfast, Mama and Papa agree, would be nice, but they're too busy to go to the store. Is Hetty big enough? “Absolutely,” says Papa, so with money in her pocket and a basket over her arm, Hetty sets off for Mr. Birdie’s store.

Although she practices her smooth walk up the hill so she won’t break the precious eggs, Hetty can’t help running all the way down. But what will she do about the slippery log over the stream and the rock hidden in the road? And what other obstacles will Hetty face on her first grown-up adventure?

Alice Schertle’s gentle text and E.B. Lewis’s glorious, translucent watercolors depict a loving family and the friendly world that awaits a child’s first steps toward independence.

“The story is remarkable for its evocative imagery, and the loving interchange between the characters sets a charming tone. The words are perfectly complemented by Lewis’s dazzling, impressionistic watercolors that show the joyous power of love and depict a warmly supportive world in which Hetty ventures forth toward independence. A fine book that speaks straight to the heart.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152024710
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2000
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	660,327
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.12(d)
Lexile:	AD580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Alice Schertle is a poet and author of many well-loved books for children, including the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling Little Blue Truck series, Very Hairy Bear, Button Up!, and All You Need for a Snowman. She lives in Plainfield, Massachusetts.

E. B. Lewis, award-winning illustrator and fine artist, has illustrated more than seventy-five books for children, including the Caldecott Honor winner Coming on Home Soon. He won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Talkin’ About Bessie and has earned the Coretta Scott Kind Illustrator Honor Award four times. After graduating from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Lewis taught art in public schools for twelve years. He now teaches at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Visit eblewis.com. 

Editorial Reviews

" The story is remarkable for its evocative imagery, and the loving interchange between the characters sets a charming tone. The words are perfectly complemented by Lewis's dazzling, impressionistic watercolors that show the joyous power of love and depict a warmly supportive world in which Hetty ventures forth toward independence. A fine book that speaks straight to the heart." -Booklist


"The story is remarkable for its evocative imagery, and the loving interchange between the characters sets a charming tone. The words are perfectly complemented by Lewis's dazzling, impressionistic watercolors that show the joyous power of love and depict a warmly supportive world in which Hetty ventures forth toward independence. A fine book that speaks straight to the heart."-Booklist

From the Publisher

K-Gr 3-Hetty has never been down the dusty road "all by herself" before, but one morning her parents decide she's old enough to fetch eggs in town on her own. The way is long, and she makes up sing-song "walking words" to amuse herself as she goes. She strides through a meadow, across a stream, and finally "...into the cool shadows of Mr. Birdie's Emporium and Dry Goods Store." On the way home, the eggs survive a close call but break when she is tempted to pick a "Papa-size" apple. Crestfallen, she climbs the tree and sulks until her father comes looking for her. They share the delicious fruit, and then Mama joins them on their perch. The next day, it's apple pie for breakfast instead of eggs. The lyrical, rhythmic text is rich with a warm, leisurely Southern feeling. Even when disaster strikes, there's not much to worry about. The story is both timeless and old-fashioned; the tractor, cars, and truck waiting for repairs in Hetty's yard and the credit card stickers in Mr. Birdie's window ground the rural setting in the present. The watercolor illustrations radiate an almost beachlike quality of blinding light, as well as offer the shadowy relief of intense and subtle greens, blues, and browns. Hetty is a sturdy, charming African American girl with pigtails, ribbons, and overalls. This story is so cozy and sweet that it makes readers thirsty-but Lewis's paintings go down like cool clear water.-Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal

School Library Journal