Red Wagon

by Renata Liwska, Renata Liwska (Illustrator)

Overview

All Lucy wants to do is play with her brand-new, bright red wagon. But her mother has other plans for her-and the wagon. Lucy must go to the market and buy vegetables for dinner. Lucy doesn't want to do chores! But she sets off for the market nonetheless, hauling her red wagon with her. Before long, her ordinary trip becomes a high-seas adventure, a ride through outer space, and a day at the circus. As long as she has her red wagon, not even chores can get in the way of Lucy's fun.

New York Times bestseller Renata Liwska's most vibrant art ever takes center stage in this imaginative book for the youngest of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101648698
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/16/2013
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Renata Liwska lives in Calgary, Canada.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Liwska renders the illustrations in soft-hued pencil and digital coloring, similar in style to those she created for Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book. Adding to the quality of this gentle yet adventurous tale is the way the illustrations provide an imaginative alternative visual narrative that enhances the straightforward text. An enjoyable story to read with creative little critters just like Lucy." —Horn Book Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Rendered in the softest possible pencil strokes and the palest pastel tints, this tender story of a feisty little fox and her animal friends…will surely satisfy the diminutive demographic that longs to leave home, but only if there's a nap at the end of the adventure.
—The Washington Post

Kristi Jemtegaard

"This title owes its delight to the well-balanced, deadpan disparity between the spare, straightforward text and the increasingly wild scenarios depicted in the digitally colored pencil illustrations. According to the words, the animals climb a hill, weather some rain, load up at the market, regroup after hitting a rock, and return home. The pictures, however, show a different story: along the way, the red wagon transforms from pirate ship to covered wagon to circus caravan to train to rocket ship to truck in detailed scenes children will want to revisit. Preschoolers will recognize the reality-blurring borders of their own made-up worlds; children on the cusp of independent reading will enjoy following the simple, bold-type sentences; and both audiences will hope for future adventures from Lucy and her friends. —Booklist, starred review

"Liwska renders the illustrations in soft-hued pencil and digital coloring, similar in style to those she created for Deborah Underwood's The Quiet Book. Adding to the quality of this gentle yet adventurous tale is the way the illustrations provide an imaginative alternative visual narrative that enhances the straightforward text. An enjoyable story to read with creative little critters just like Lucy."  —Horn Book Reviews

From the Publisher

A mundane task fills with delicious thrills. Lucy asks permission to play with her new red wagon, so mom agreeably sends her to market with it—but, hmm, "That sounded like a chore. Lucy didn't want to do chores." Never fear; this journey is anything but dull. Adroitly pairing innocently understated prose with pictures of simple but imaginative adventures, Liwska invites readers to giggle at Lucy's impressive escapades that unfold entirely visually. When the rainy countryside becomes a roaring ocean, the wagon's a sailboat riding cresting waves. The wagon also becomes a rocket ship, a train, a construction-site truck and a covered wagon. At the carnival/circus (market), "Lucy neatly loaded the wagon with vegetables from her list"—by juggling them with help from a trapeze flyer. The illustrator's pencil work is nimble, her backgrounds airy and free, with hatched grasses for these child animals—cousins of her characters in Deborah Underwood's Quiet Book (2010)—to romp in. The colors glow softly. Red wagon's last role? The perfect nap-spot for a girl all played out. A winner. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews