Yard Sale

PreS-Gr 1—Opening on a yard full of items for sale, this picture book tackles the difficult discussion of transitioning to a smaller home or apartment. Callie, whose family is having the sale, watches as people slowly pick their way and prod through her family's items and memories. A particular heart-wrenching moment comes as a woman offers five dollars instead of 10 for a headboard because it is covered in crayon marks. Callie reflects, "I wish I hadn't put the crayon marks on there. They were to show how many times I had read Goodnight Moon." Several other small heartbreaks occur for Callie. Her bicycle is sold, she must explain to her best friend why she's leaving ("I don't know. It's something to do with money"), and she has to endure a well-intentioned woman asking, "Are you for sale?" While the topic is an extremely tough one, Bunting tackles it with her usual grace and poise. The clear and concise writing is a wonderful choice for the subject matter. The soft ink and watercolor illustrations with thick black lines portray the text excellently and without unnecessary additions. While the topic of moving is covered in a multitude of picture books, this one looks at it from a difficult perspective that most authors choose to avoid or gloss over. A vital purchase for collections everywhere.—Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Bunting (Washday) imagines a girl in a polka-dotted pullover watching as strangers at her family's yard sale haggle over furniture that was hers. Her family is about to move from a house into a small apartment: "It's something to do with money," she confides. She's jolted when a man with a beard loads her bicycle onto his truck. "We told you, sweetie," her father explains. "We have no place to keep it." Bunting handles these scenes with sensitivity, making deep emotions plain. When a woman makes a joke at the end of a long day ("Aren't you just the cutest thing?... Are you for sale?") the girl is undone. "You wouldn't sell me, would you?" she asks her parents, crying hard. "Not for a million, trillion dollars," her father assures her. Castillo's (Nana in the City) gentle scenes soften the family's sadness. And while the conclusion is a shade optimistic ("We don't really need anything we've sold"), Bunting captures the way loss can take a family's possessions while leaving their love for each other intact. Ages 3-7. Illustrator's agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Apr.)