The Milkman
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2-A charming book that harks back to the era of milk home delivery. Mr. Plimpton rolls out of bed at 3:30 A. M. and is off with his cat to deliver the dairy products before the sun rises in this prairie town. Many pages feature missing-dog posters from Caroline, but astute readers will notice that the dog is not missing at all, but lurks in many pictures as the milkman makes his rounds. Cordsen doesn't waste a word in the punchy rhyming phrases that are gently packed with observation and detail: "First of morning, cold and dark./Rooster crowing. Meadowlark./Moon above the mountaintops./Loud alarm clock. Snoring stops." Jones's cheerful pictures pay homage to classic illustrators such as Lois Lenski and Robert McCloskey, who used soft lines and shading to such narrative advantage. Warm colors evoke the serenity of deep-blue, early-morning hours and gradually lighten to the pinks and oranges of dawn as the milkman finishes his route, captures and returns the lost dog to young Caroline, and joins his family at 7:30. This highly re-readable book reminds children of the joy of doing a job one loves and the delights of the early-morning hours. It may also invite them to reminisce with their great-grandparents about "the olden days" and what other community jobs have vanished from the current scene.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.