Tuesday

Tuesday by David Wiesner is a breath taking story told almost solely through pictures.  The only lines of texts tell the date or time.  Through the magical mind of David Wiesner on Tuesday nights animals have the power to fly.  The story starts out in a swamp.  The sun begins to set and then the party begins.  Frogs burst into the sky riding there lily pads.  The reader follows these creatures on their adventure to the nearby town.  They wreak havoc on birds, clotheslines, and living rooms, but by morning they are gone, back in the swamp to wait for the next time they can fly.  The last two pages have the text ‘Next Tuesday’ and the pictures of...well you will have to read the book to find out.    

This is such a great book because there is no text to guide the reader’s imagination.  The pictures tell part of the story, but the reader has to fill in the gaps.  Why are the frogs flying? Are they mischievous or trouble makers?  The pictures of this book are truly great.  There is so much detail on every page the reader could spend hours looking at them.

There are so many great activities that could come from this book.  Younger children could create picture books of their own animals flying around and older children can write a narrative based on the pictures in the book.  I granite that every story would be unique.   

David Wiesner has won three Caldecott medals, one for this book, and two Caldecott Honors medal.  This is very impressive considering he has only written/illustrated nine books.  After reading this blog I suggest you go to your local library website and reserve these books as soon as possible.  Why not go to the actual library?  It is because these books are moving off the shelves quick.  I personally have checked out seven, you don’t have time to waste driving.