Mural on Second Avenue and Other City Poems

by Lilian Moore, Roma Karas (Illustrator)

Overview

“Children will get the feel of the city and its delights from both the word pictures and the substantial artwork.” — Booklist

Seventeen poems by Lilian Moore speak to the joys and everyday wonders of city living, including the hush of a snowy morning, the grandeur of skyscrapers and bridges, the phantom faces reflected in store windows, and the transforming effects of a neighborhood mural painted “on the blank / unwindowed wall” by someone “dreaming / to the slap of a / wet brush.” Brought to life through Roma Karas’s simple, vibrant illustrations, this collection of poetry offers a loving tribute to small moments in the big city.
Back matter includes an index of first lines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763663490
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,108,517
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

 

Editorial Reviews

MURAL ON SECOND AVENUE: AND OTHER CITY POEMS collects previously published poems by Lilian Moore, with artwork as electric as the urban beat by Russian-born artist Roma Karas.
—Publishers Weekly

The joys of city life are extolled in a book whose charm lies in simple observations.
—Booklist

Conveying an idyllic but never sugary view of urban life, this gathering not only marks a strong debut for the illustrator, but highlights the timeless quality of so much of Moore's poetry.
—Kirkus Reviews

These poems speak loudly to children; their simply stated messages spread encouragement to fledgling writers.
—School Library Journal

Few surpass Lilian Moore's genius at translating experience and observation into poetry for the very young. Here the late poet's abillities are handsomely showcased.
—Horn Book, The

Moore, a master of translating everyday experiences into poems for children, describes summer rain, window shopping, construction, murals, and other city happenings.
—Book Links

From the Publisher

Poems collects previously published poems by Lilian Moore, with artwork as electric as the urban beat by Russian-born artist Roma Karas. Snow-capped apartment buildings set the scene for Snowy Morning, which evokes the hushed tone of city streets (There is no bray/ of buses./ No brake growls,/ no siren howls, and/ no horns/ blow), while a spread of a busy intersection accompanies the cautionary How to Go Around a Corner (It's best to wait/ and/ turn/ the corner/ slowly/ as if it had a gate). (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 4-These 17 poems, all but one of which were chosen from Moore's previous collections, celebrate life in the city. The offerings describe the hush of a snowy morning, winter's early darkness, urban streets and store windows, kite flying in the park, forsythia blooming in spring, summer play, a bare-branched tree in fall, a bridge by day and night, and more. The poems appear on pages covered in bright oil paintings; the comfortably large black print emphasizes Moore's use of assonance, alliteration, and intentional random rhyme. For example, "Wake/gently this morning/to a different day./Listen./There is no bray/of buses./No brake growls,/no siren howls, and/no horns/blow./There is only/the silence/of a city/hushed/by snow." In the simple, childlike illustrations, a young boy travels through city streets and different seasons, wondering at everything he sees. Trees and grass shine like emeralds, orange-and-red buildings have warmly lit windows, and the skies are blue and cloud-filled. These poems speak loudly to children; their simply stated messages spread encouragement to fledgling writers.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Though only one of the 17 poems here is new, by being paired to Karas's intimate, generic street and parkscapes, all shine in handsome new settings. Moore writes of snow and rain, of how "roofs / design a sky," of the pleasures of window shopping and kite flying, of the right way to round a corner, of the glories of a bridge by night and a mural filled with exotic animals by day. Meanwhile, the moon gleams, passersby chat on streets narrow or wide, children dash across a grassy meadow, a skeletal skyscraper rears up to the clouds, and pigeons-"city folk / content / to live with concrete / and cement,"-cluster hopefully near an empty trash can, while a young observer contemplates a leafless tree. Conveying an idyllic but never sugary view of urban life, this gathering not only marks a strong debut for the illustrator, but highlights the timeless quality of so much of Moore's poetry. (Poetry. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews