Fix That Clock

November 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-A decrepit clock tower stands abandoned and moldering. "Rats are nesting on the beams./Bats are resting in the seams./Time is rusted in the gears, /frozen fast for years and years." Then, with pep in their step, a diverse three-person construction crew arrives to repair the tower "marching up the ramp...Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" Starting at the bottom where even the stairs are unsalvageable, the team fixes the structure from the ground up, dislodging various resident critters in the process. Once they restore the clock mechanism, they build little houses on the sides of the tower for the rats, mice, bats, and birds displaced by the construction. Cyrus's radiantly sunlit spreads show the energetic scenes of demolition and rebuilding, his assiduous laborers in their colorful overalls and hard hats, wielding many tools that young readers can discover and name. VERDICT Cheerful illustrations perfectly complement the bouncy, catchy verse that just begs to be read aloud. A terrific addition to most collections and storytimes.-Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University

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Starred review from September 1, 2019
Three young builders repair a run-down clock housed in a wooden tower. The rickety wooden tower stands alone, paint peeling, stairs broken. The gears in the clock have rusted; most of the numbers have fallen off. Three determined young people clad in overalls and toting tools arrive to restore it. Two present as male--one tall, thin, and black, the other shorter and white. The lone girl has straight, dark hair cut in a short bob and olive skin. The rhyming text has an appealingly singsong nursery-rhyme cadence as it chronicles their arrival, the work they do, and the host of small animals that have made the clock tower their home. It also offers opportunities for interaction by describing details in ways that encourage children to observe closely and to count. Variations in the style, size, and color of the typeset add emphasis and visual interest and contribute to the playful feel. Crisp, colorful illustrations enhance and extend the text. In addition to depicting the action and individuals described (down to the last of 20 mice who race to escape the demolition), they reveal subtle patterns in the trees, shrubs, and clouds and the details of the clock face and its gears. With lots to look at and a pleasing rhythm, this energetic repair project ticks along very nicely indeed. (Picture book. 4-8)

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