This is a great idea for a story that worked quite well. The pictures are lovely to look at too. I loved the ending. There are so many children's books out there of varying quality, so I was pleased to come across this little gem.

It all started in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey on May 11, 1999. Holly Evans launched her science experiment, flats of vegetable seedlings carried up into the ionosphere by weather balloons, to study "the effects of extra-terrestrial conditions on vegetable growth and development." Fast forward to June 29. All over the country, enormous vegetables are seen floating to earth. "Cucumbers circle Kalamazoo. Lima bearns loom over Levittown. Artichokes advance on Anchorage. Parsnips pass by Providence. And broccoli lands with a big bounce in Holly Evans's backyard." But when "arugula covers Ashtabula" , Holly begins to wonder about this veggie phenomenon. Arugula was not a part of her experiment..... David Wiesner's makes June 29th an unforgettable day in his entertaining classic, and imaginations will soar with each delightful page turn. His minimal text, with its witty, dead-pan delivery, is filled with clever wordplay and alliteration. But it's Mr Wiesner's marvelous illustrations that really make this book stand out and sparkle, and youngsters will enjoy lingering over each outrageously detailed and humorous picture. With an inventive twist at the end to bring the whole story to its logical, though fantastic, conclusion, June 29, 1999 is a masterpiece you and your family don't want to miss.

The date may have past, but "June 29, 1999" remains a wonderful children's classic!! About a month before the day of the book's title, Young Holly Evans began a special science project. Using weather balloons, she had launched a number of different plants and vegetables in flat boxes into the ionosphere to study their growth. However, on June 29th, a most mysterious event occurred... GIGANTIC vegetables descended from the sky all over the country!! A hiker in the Rocky Mountains discovers turnips the size of houses and "cucumbers circle Kalamazoo".

As they slowly float to the ground (well, the red peppers need some help for some unknown reason), news reports come in from all over the country: gigantic parsnips in Providence, lima beans in Levittown, and arugula in Ashtabula. Wait a second!! Holly is puzzled; she didn't USE arugula as part of her experiment!! What's going on here?? If the arugula, the eggplants and the avocados are NOT part of her experiment, where did they come from??

David Weisner is the author of the Caldecott winning book, "Tuesday" in which frogs on their lily pads suddenly take flight one summer night. His delightful sense of the strange is continued here in "June 29". Like all of his books, the illustrations are lush and meticulously detailed, the reader feels like they could easily walk right into the pictures and be part of the action. The story is short, easy to read, and uses a lot of alliteration, so it can easily graft itself into a language arts lesson.

The story has some wonderfully fun visual jokes that older readers and adults will find fun, for example giant gourds being used as housing in North Carolina and The Big Apple being renamed to The Big Rutabaga (a giant purple rutabaga parades down the streets of New York to a blizzard of ticker tape and streamers). The book does have a wonderful surprise ending that I shall not give away here but will delight readers on the last page or two. If you're a fan of "Tuesday" or merely love an unusual story, you must pick up a copy of "June 29, 1999"!!

I first encountered this book about 15 years ago. After much searching in the past 5 I was overjoyed at it's re-release. The book is a wistful journey, fraught with the type of characters which abound in the Chronicles of Narnia, but without as many religious undertones. The creatures created by Eckert are reminiscent of the fantasy epics "Labyrinth" and "The Never Ending Story." The book is as fantastical now as it was waaaaaay back in grade school. My only regret is that it took so long to be re-published.

This book was wonderful! It is the story of the twins Lara and Barnaby and their cousin William (I think that's what his name was, I haven't read the book for a while) who go into the world of Mesmeria one day by following an owl through the Everglades, only to find that they're destined to save this land.This book is an incredible fantasy (take it from a fanatic bookworm) that I completely loved, and the sequel "The Wand: Return to Mesmeria" is just as good...

This is the greatest book I have ever read...in other words, my most favorite of all books! It has absolutely everything I dream of in a fantasy novel: an entrance to another world; fantastic and outer-worldly creatures, characters and obstacles; an imaginative and original plot combining the elements of fantasy, fiction, adventure, mystery and suspense; and an almost perfect combination of surrealistic lands and characters. Even though this is the only book of Allan's that I have read, I believe that this is the most different from his others. No other novel I have read let me enter such an incredible world as this one or make my own imagination stronger than it had ever been before! To summarize this enchanted adventure, the two main adventurers-Laura and Barnaby-set off to a secret spot (known by their cousin and the third adventurer, William) in the Florida Everglades. As their small motorboat ventures further in, William's secret owl reveals a hidden passage trhough the side of the walls of the cavernous secret spot, just large enough for the boat. As they make their way through the dark green tunnel, a whole other world is discovered through these three children and an incredible adventure is about to begin! There is only one problem...Laura and Barnaby are twin brother and sister...and in this new world, twins are forbidden

This is a book I read when I was -- I don't know, eight. And like almost all the other books I read when I was eight, I put it away when I was done.

However, this is one that stuck in my memory.

Dropped by to try and replace my copy after finding what was left of it. Pity that it's out of print.

i first read this book when i wa 9yr. old. then lost the book which is y i came to amazon to buy it again. it is worth paying for. this story takes u to another world. it has beautifull descriptions and wonderfull illustrations. the only other books i can compare it to is the harry potter series and the wrinkle in time. it makes your imagination work and makes reading fun even for the most hesitant reader. if you like harry potter you'll like the firebrat. don't be fooled by it's slow beginning it quickly speeds up.

The book Hurricane by David Wiesner was an excellent book. It teaches children that you don't have to always have the new hi-tech toys to have fun. All you need is your imagination. I would recommend this book to all ages. It was about 2 brothers who are waiting for a large hurricane to arrive in their town. When the storm finally hits both of the boys get really scared. After the hurricane lets up and is over the boys notice that there is a large tree that fell down right next to their house. It wasn't their tree it was the neighbors but they decided to play on it one day because they were extremely bored. They played on the tree so much that it became their little adventure world. They would spend as much time as they could with that tree. They felt safe and protected when they would play. But one morning the boys awoke to the sound of chainsaws and axes hacking away at what sounded like... A TREE!!! Could it have been their tree???

Excellent book about two great boys who lived through a terrible hurricane and almost fell in love with a tree. It had a little sadness and happiness. Great illustrations! One of the best children's books I have ever read! The two boys showed a bunch of love for the tree, unfortunately, it would go in the end. Overall, an excellent book for all ages!!!!!!

I am an Elementary School Librarian and I LOVE this calendar! It has great illustrations from many well-loved children's books. I also like that it notes the birthdays of authors and illustrators. This calendar is a great resource for librarians and teachers. Also, it's a lot of fun with bright and beautiful illustrations for anyone! The calendar grid is also a nice size with plenty of room to note appointments or whatever.

Neptune Rising is one of those fabulous books that fascinates not only children, but adults as well. The stories themselves weave throughout your head until you too want to become one with the sea and swim with the characters. Jane Yolen transcends most authors' stories of the sea, with both new and old fables in this powerful book. I remember as a child being enthralled with her books, sitting on the floor of my public library for hours. As an adult with my own collection of her works, I escape into that same dreamworld whenever I read Neptune Rising again.

I loved this book! This superb sequel to "The Dark Green Tunnel" takes place a month after the first book in our tim, and about 750 years after the first in Mesmerian time! The twins Lara and Barnaby return to the beautiful kingdom of Twilandia only to find it in tatters and the good witch Mag Nammoder gone! Upon meeting the dwarf Quill, they discover that Mesmeria is once again under oppresion; but this time, an evil wizard holds the throne. To save Mag Nammoder and free all Mesmeria, the twins must invoke spells from the hidden "Secret Volumes of Warp" with the help of the extremely powerful wand. But in order to do this, the twins must first invade the heavily guarded Black Castle. And if they succeed, Lara has an inportant decision to make...

Sector Seven

Sector Seven, by David Wiesner, is a story of how a little boy learns to use his creativity to give back to the world his own dreams and fantasies. On one cloudy day, a little boy goes on a school field trip to the Empire State Building. There he meets a fantastic cloud creature who takes him on a wild adventure to a cloud factory in the sky called Sector Seven. While on his adventure, he uses his talent for drawing to inspire the clouds in the sky to make their own perceptions and realities. What the author has done is to tell in a children's story how in our lives we have the power, if we choose, to make an impact on others. He encourages readers take their different talents and ideas and share them with the world to make a change; to learn from the perspectives of others and allow them to learn from ours. Overall, Sector Seven is done very well. Since this book is a wordless picture book, the illustrations have to carry the narrative of the story, which it does nicely. I thought that the illustrations could have used a little more color; the illustrator used mostly shades of gray and blue. However, I would guess that the author wants to give the impression of a "cloudy day," and from this perspective, the colors fit the plot of the story. The illustrations of the factory scenes are a bit confusing because the illustrator places the pictures of the main characters on top of other scenes within the factory. Since the effect produces the sensation of several actions happening simultaneously, the story is sometimes hard to follow. I understood the author's intention of this book much better after reading the introduction within the jacket cover. I would suggest to any person who is reading this book, to look at this introduction before going on to the rest of the story. You will have much clearer perception of the direction in which David Wiesner is trying to take Sector Seven.

This is yet another great book by author/illustrator David Wiesner. This is a story about a boy who goes on a field trip to the Empire State Building. As a result of complete cloud cover the boy makes friends with a unique character, a cloud. The cloud takes the boy to "Sector 7" where all clouds are made by boring, uninspired beings. The boys spices things up by creating factastic shapes for the clouds. The boy is kicked out of Sector 7 by those beings who do not appreciate his artistic ability. After the boy is gone the clouds revolt and what follows is a delight for the eyes! This almost wordless picture book stretches the imagination and keeps you guessing page after page about what you will see next.

David Wiesner's Sector 7 illustrates an artistic young boy's adventure on a school field trip to the Empire State Building, where he meets a "friendly cloud-man." The "friendly cloud-man" takes the boy to "Sector 7," (the place where clouds are formed and placed around the globe). The boy uses his talents to give the unhappy clouds an eye-opening makeover. Wiesner's illustrations create an expressive story. His detailed pictures work together to make the story understandable and interesting. To enhance the mood and atmosphere of the story, Wiesner uses the choice of bold, friendly watercolors and unique frames throughout the book. The frames are presented in chronological order either top to bottom, left to right, or back to front. Sector 7 gives the reader's mind a chance to unwind and expand beyond its imaginable limits. It is definitely a book that will attract those of all ages and test their imagination.

TUESDAY, by David Wiesner

Book Review

Who will be next? Weisner uses no words, which allows readers to develop their own opinions about what exactly is happening. The book is a vivid display of color and detail painted in watercolor. Both children and adults can experience fun and amazement by reading this picture book. As dusk becomes night, something strange happens to animals in this particular town. The story opens and frogs begin to float above their pond, perched upon their lily pads, like genies on flying carpets. As the frogs rise out of the water, they fly in a flock, raiding the town while watchful eyes are asleep. The amphibious creatures fly through linen hanging out to dry and an elderly woman's living room while she is asleep. Then something strange happens to them at dawn. They can no longer soar above and around the town and are reduced to hopping back to their pond without the aid of flight. The following night, another animal is able to fly and see the town in their own new light, once darkness falls. by Matthew Ellenberg

In the inside of the cover, Wiesner claims these events actually happened one Tuesday and... "all those in doubt are reminded that there is always another Tuesday." Beginning at 8:00pm, we see a three-part picture of a pond that changes perspective to focus on an alarmed turtle. Frogs on lilypads have taken flight and begin to chase after birds, intimidate a dog and confuse a man eating midnight snack. As morning approaches, the frogs return to their pond, leaving their lilypads and the curious detectives behind. The story ends with the words, "next Tuesday" and the shadow of a flying pig.

I've used this book in primary classrooms. It is a very cute story with only a few words. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for children to tell or write their own words. This enables students who cannot read yet to engage in a literate activity.

Why 5 stars?:
This book tells a cute fantasy story with very few words. It lends itself to having children make up their own text, which will support their emerging literacy skills. The illustrations are incredibly lifelike and it is no wonder it won a Caldecott.

Tuesday is the most imaginative picture book that I have ever seen. It is a wordless fantasy of people, animals, and plants that allows you to supply your own story. As such, it will provide endless opportunities for you and your child to entertain one another. What really is going on? What does it mean? What will happen next Tuesday?

The book is illustrated very much like a graphic novel (a series of comic books bound together in softcover form, if you haven't seen one) but without words. The book does have a few indicators of time and day of the week, that provide the minimal connection to reality needed to launch the story into space.

The images here are very whimsical. Frogs fly on lily pads in formation like the Blue Angels, and create lots of unexpected fun. The book is most interesting when you see what happens on the second Tuesday. How about the third? You'll have to use your imagination for that one.

This book deserves its Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustrations. In no other book that I can think of do the illustrations carry the story. The book uses vibrant colors, done in a low-key way. Stylistically, it is a take-off on the science fiction and super hero genres in pictures.

You will be laughing out loud when you see what the frogs are up to. You will also enjoy the visual puns on textless pages.

Where else can pictures tell the story? Have you ever engaged in pantomimes, shadow puppets, or charades with your child? If you haven't, this would be a good time to introduce those enjoyable games.

Imagination can take you anywhere you want!

Free Fall By: David Wiesner David Wiesner sends the reader on a magical journey through a young boy's dream to a far off land in his creative picture book titled, Free Fall. He does this by using only detailed pictures. Free Fall is an Caldecott honor award winning book for its excellent use of the imagination. Free Fall begins with a young boy fast asleep with a storybook lying open on his chest. The boy begins to dream while the pages of the book start to fly and take life. He becomes a character in the book as the chess pieces begin to talk with him. He then goes through many exciting adventures during the course of the book. He protects the town from a frightening dragon, becomes an oversized boy towering above all, and even becomes so small that he can fly on a single leaf. He flies right next to the swans just above the waters, and then he...wakes to the daylight shining through his window. He sits up, looks at his fish bowl beside his bed, and admires the seagulls at his windowpane with a smile on his face. David Wiesner uses fantasy and adventure to give a child an unlimited imagination in his book, Free Fall. The title page automatically sets the reader up for a fulfilled magical ride. The title page looks like a map made out of the boy's bed sheet to give the reader a sense of where the story will take us. The first page of the book lets the reader know that the boy fell asleep while reading a book. Then the reader turns the page, and night suddenly turns into day from one page to the next. The boy's room starts to disappear into rolling open fields with mountains towering in the background through clouds. The boy becomes as small as a chess piece, and starts to have conversations with the other pieces. On the next page, the chess pieces turn into a beautiful life-size castle, and the people have shrunk to a smaller size. Then, a dragon appears, and the boy is left to protect the people using only a sword and shield. As the reader turns the page, the pages of the young boy's storybook begin to turn also, while characters in his book suddenly jump into his dream. The reader can see the people coming out of the pages. The boy then grows vast, soaring over all. He takes adventures though the mountains, as well as takes flight though the air. He flies along with the swans until the waters subtly turns back into his bed sheets. A foggy haze once again appears, and the boy is awakened by the light of the morning. Wiesner takes the reader, the child, on an adventure though another child's dream. The colors of the pictures are subtle and dull, so that it reflects that of a hazy dream-like state. The picture book is put together very well as the pages slowly drift into the next scene of the boy's thoughts. For example, the boy's bed sheets blend into rolling hills, the hills fade into a chessboard, and the pieces convert into the towers of a castle. The pages of the book turn gradually into steps, and then transform into sides of buildings. The mountains then turn into bread as the boy's bed sheet reappears as a tablecloth. The tablecloth suddenly transforms into rough waters, as the food breaks into pieces forming into fish. As daylight breaks through, the waters turn into the boy's bed sheets once again. The transformation of the bed sheet into so many different items may relate to what a child can imagine a bed sheet to become. The uses of objects, such as the boy's bed sheet, for more then one purpose is a great way to express an exploring, creative mind, such as the young boy's in the book Wiesner's Free Fall, creates an adventure for the child through the great usage of imagination. This allows the child to not only enjoy the book, but also relate to the book. The child learns that bedtime, an often unpopular time, can open up a world of excitement for them.

Free Fall is a series of wonderful illustrations of apparently unrelated imaginary worlds seamlessly stitched together by familiar textures. As with other books by David Wiesner, the closer you look the more you will appreciate his work.

Warning: This is not a traditional story. Young children probably will need your help to follow along.

If you appreciate creativity, imagination and quality illustration and want to pass this on to your children this book is a must have.

"Free Fall" by David Wiesner is a wordless book about imagination. It begins with a boy who is escorted through a very imaginative dream. Throughout the book, the illustrations change subtly to form new scenarios as the dream continues. Eventually, the boy wakes up only to realize that a map and his own toys are the items that initiated his dream. "Free Fall" is a wonderfully illustrated book. It contains very clear illustrations with quite a bit of detail. Because the theme focuses on imagination, many of the illustrations are out of the ordinary and are abstract. However, the same concept is persistent throughout the book providing continuity for the reader. "Free Fall" will provide children of different ages the opportunity to explore their own imagination. It will also give children the opportunity to develop their vocabulary as they describe what each page means to them. However, some younger children might not be able to understand the complete meaning contained within the book. Furthermore, they might not have the vocabulary to describe all that they see. In spite of this, most children will truly enjoy this book. I do recommend it highly to any home or classroom.