[.ca] Tuesday (ISBN 0395870828)

From Amazon.com:
"Tuesday evening, around eight"--a deceptively mundane beginning for what proves to be a thrilling, miraculous, and surreal amphibian journey. Slowly and quietly on this particular Tuesday, a few fat frogs begin hovering over a swamp, riding lily pads like magic carpets. Clearly satisfied and comfortable, the floating frogs are as serene as little green buddhas. Gradually, the flying fleet grows in momentum and number, sailing over the countryside and into an unsuspecting town. These frogs know how to have fun--startling the occasional bird, waving webbed feet at late-night snack-eaters, and even changing the channels on a sleeping granny's television. As day breaks, the frogs lose their lily pads, head back to the pond, and wait impatiently for their next scheduled departure. Tuesday won the 1992 Caldecott Medal and, among other honors, was named as an ALA Notable Children's Book. The critical acclaim will come as no surprise to anyone who opens the pages of this beautiful and humorous book. With hardly any words (except those noting the time), David Wiesner creates a wondrous romp as silent as the middle of the night. Using the rich purples, blues, and greens of late evening, Wiesner draws readers into the warm, incandescent world of frog flight. "Read" this wordless wonder to children and savor it for yourself as well. Chances are, you and the youngsters will both find yourselves poised at the window, hoping to catch a few airborne frogs in the act. (Ages 4 and older)

tell your own story:
Although there are very few words included with the wonderful illustrations, I have a pretty standard version of the story which my kids expect to hear whenever we read the book. The illustrations contain so many humourous details that the story can be subtly varied in each telling to help keep the story teller amused. If you are not sure about making up stories for your kids, this book might provide an excellent template--just describe what you see in the pictures.

Wordless, yet eventful Plot:
David Wiesner's, almost wordless, book, "Tuesday," gives the reader a vivid story about a group of frogs who take their lily pads for a ride. Their lily pads fly through the air and through the neighborhood. The frogs' adventure ends when the sun begins to rise. However, the next Tuesday, another animal gets to take a similar adventure. In the book, "Tuesday," David Wiesner uses watercolor on Arches paper for the illustrations. The illustrator uses dark colors to represent the time of night in this story. The dark colors also give the viewer a sense of mystery as they flip through the pages. However, the illustrator also uses light colors to represent the light from a house, the glow from a television set or the time of day. David Wiesner uses line to show the action of the frogs, by guiding the viewers' eye through the frogs' adventure on their lily pads. Wiesner's choice to make the frogs in the book, "Tuesday," makes the frogs seem friendly and happy. My favorite aspect of the illustration was that color. The light and dark differences found throughout the book made the story seem very real, even though the plot is very, "magical." The use of blues and grays make the frogs flying through the air seem mysterious. While the fluorescent lights of the kitchen give a very drastic change to the frogs flying in the night outside. I also think that it was very cute for the frog to be waving at the man in the kitchen. I think that is a minor detail that a child will most likely pick up on and appreciate. The lighting of the television room was another favorite for me. I like how the artist let the glow of the television shadow the frogs and the old woman. I enjoyed the fact that the frogs made themselves at home with the remote control and the cat looking on, in the background. I think this is a book that a child would definitely enjoy to, "read," especially since they do not have to read. The child is free to let their imagination do the storytelling.

Tuesday:
I am a student at West Virginia State College, and I was required to read a Caldecott Award winning book for my summer Childrens Literature course. I chose the 1992 Caldecott Medal winner, Tuesay. Without knowing anything about the book I went to the public library and checked it out. To my surprise it was a picture book. The pictures in this book are amazing. They are so realistic and the thought of flying frogs really interests kids. This is a beautifully illustrated book and I would highly recommend this book for children of all ages. All you need is a great imagination to interested in this book. This book rightly bears the Caldecott Medal. I would like to thank my stupendous teacher Roger Samples for this fun and exciting assignment.

Monday you can fall apart. Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart:
We've all heard the stories of the skies, for whatever reason, raining frogs on innocent town travelers. This natural occurrence of the wild is one of the great weirdnesses of life. So how much odder is it, really, to consider frogs flying? They have all the self-possession required of such a task. Frogs are a uniquely calm species. Confident even. In Dave Wiesner's essentially wordless book "Tuesday", amphibian folk are given the unexplained power of floatation. In his tale, Wiesner considers what exactly frogs would do with the gift of flying if it was granted them. One of the best pictures in this book is on one of the first pages. There, a turtle cowers into its shell as black eyed pupil-less frogs rise on their lily pads out of the water. The frogs descend, so to speak, on a nearby suburb, and proceed to wreak some minor havok. They disturb a man pausing to eat a late night sandwich. They disturb laundry and enter old ladies' homes to watch a little telly. And they take a great amount of pleasure in scaring a dog that would undoubtedly eat them if it had the chance. As the book ends, the frogs are relieved of their otherworldly powers and hop back to the swamps, leaving only their lily pads behind them. The next Tuesday, at the same time, we're given a hint of how a more porcine animal will handle flight. Wiesner is a genius at the visual gag. His illustrations are simple watercolors, well-detailed and in-depth. Wiesner knows when to give an animal human expressions and when to leave it looking particularly froggy. He gets every single one of those frogs' spots down , and can manipulate his illustrations in such a way that you never doubt for a moment the ridiculous things you're seeing. To top it all off, the man's a master at conveying light. I'm particularly attached to a scene of flying frogs watching t.v., a wary cat crouching in the background. The old lady asleep in the chair is wearing glasses that are reflecting the light of the television perfectly. On top of that, this is exactly what a room lit only by a single screen looks like. Wiesner's details are marvelous. Make sure to notice the frog appreciatively eyeing the old lady's painting of the forest. There aren't that many wordless picture books out there these days though Wiesner has made a name for himself by specializing in this area. After reading "Tuesday", you can understand why he deserves this honor. Both witty and perverse, this author/illustrator lets you see into worlds you never could have imagined existed before he came up with them. You'll be thankful that he did.

An imaginative award-winning journey:
I discovered this classic over a decade ago when working on my Master's. One of my required classes was a course in children's literature and it turned out to be my favorite. Having long been an avid reader, I was reintroduced to forgotten pleasures and presented with new (at that time) works that were totally fascinating. "Tuesday" is in the latter category. It is short on prose but makes up for it with engrossing illustrations. The minimum of words allows the "reader" to create a different script with each visit. My three-year-old niece "eats" the book up every time that either her mom, her grandfather, or even her dotting uncle takes a shine to pull it off the shelf and share it with her. Our respective interpretations of the pictures are limitless, making this a book that will live long after others have faded into obscurity. Even the book's end allows the child to ponder the events of "Wednesday" and even hypothesize about the events of subsequent days. Any book that plays on a child's natural tendency to dream is a winner.