★ 11/21/2016
Until the advent of delivery trucks, milk and eggs were brought to many American homes by horse and wagon. This is the late poet Galing’s homage to a delivery horse that meant the world to him. The tenderness of his words (“Tony was all white,/ large, sturdy,/ with wide gentle eyes/ and a ton of love”), combined with Stead’s exquisite portraits, allows readers entry into the world shared by boy and horse. Two-color spreads show glimpses of Tony’s life: Tom, the milk truck driver, heading for the barn while it’s still dark, the light above the door casting a golden glow over them; the blue dawn breaking as Tony clip-clips through the streets; Tony’s patient glance as he waits for Tom to return to the wagon. The milk is delivered “early in the morning, around three a.m.,” but Galing is always up to see Tony: “Wouldn’t miss Tony for the world,” he tells Tom. “He is such a wonderful horse, and so handsome.” Galing’s words testify to the pure love children feel for the first animals they come to know. Ages 3–6. Illustrator’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Feb.)
"Astonishing."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"The tenderness of his words (“Tony was all white,/ large, sturdy,/ with wide gentle eyes/ and a ton of love”), combined with Stead’s exquisite portraits, allows readers entry into the world shared by boy and horse."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The muted pencil drawings are gorgeous and soft, a comfort simply to view. The gray and aqua coloring puts readers in predawn’s light, with the yellow highlights perfectly yielding a sense of warmth. The illustrations and text work together perfectly, conveying a story for readers of all ages."—School Library Journal
"A lovely tribute to a bygone service, especially for equine fans."—Booklist
01/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Tony is a large white workhorse with gentle eyes and a loving spirit. He faithfully fulfills his duties pulling the milk cart for Tom every morning before dawn. The narrator, a young boy, has found a companion in the horse and arises in the early hours to give him a pat or perhaps a treat. The kindness is well received by both Tony and Tom, and a ritual of sorts is established among the three friends. This beautiful picture book of kindness and friendship is simple in text and rich in content—a treasure. Telling a tale of times gone by, it is a peek into life in the early morning hours of American cities in the 1920s. Caldecott medalist Stead lovingly adapted a poem by the late Galing for a picture book audience. The muted pencil drawings are gorgeous and soft, a comfort simply to view. The gray and aqua coloring puts readers in predawn's light, with the yellow highlights perfectly yielding a sense of warmth. The illustrations and text work together perfectly, conveying a story for readers of all ages. VERDICT A little slice of history, pure and simple, best enjoyed one-on-one.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE
★ 2016-10-26
Poet Galing (1917-2013) leads Tony, a dairy delivery horse, through the veil of memory, encantatory phrasing—circling and repetitious—calling him plodding from pre-dawn into the present, his sturdy flank barely expanding with the effort. "Tony // that was his name // he was such a / wonderful horse // and pulled a milk / truck / for Tom, the young / driver // Tom Jones, / in the early hours of the / morning, // pulling the wagon loaded / with milk, butter, / and eggs…." Stead's astonishing pencil illustrations, simultaneously granular and silkily suggestive, deliver corporeal portraits of Tony's musculature, his lashes, cocked ear, subdued sentience, and pathos. Her foggy, blotted green-and-gold palette (achieved through monoprinting) suggests not only nocturnal darkness and lamplight, but also the patina of coppered time. Gauzy line drawings and matte colors surface in ample creamy, blank space, just as memories float up out of the subconscious. At once moody and poignant, murky and clear, intensely personal and vague, atmospheric and studiously specific, the pictures and language cohere magically to remind readers how memories often shimmer and shape-shift. Young readers will simply marvel at the poem's lulling, looping cadence and at the pictures' extraordinary empathy and likeness—fitting enough for a story about a horse, his driver, eggs, milk, butter, and a man's pure, simple appreciation. Readers will hear the "clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop" in every image of this astonishing book. (Picture book. 2-12)