Now It Is Morning

by Candace Whitman

"An appealing red rooster announces the sunrise on the cover of this arrestingly illustrated concept book comparing morning on the farm, in the town and in the city...Whitman's fuzzy-edged watercolors...delight the eye with their vibrant colors and design."-Publishers Weekly

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Savani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t care for the artwork or the story.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hockessin Library - Toddler Tales - 3/4/26

[Kate Chazin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is morning on the farm, and the animals are the first to wake! Family members on the farm begin to wake up to feed the horses, cows, and chickens. People in the city begin to wake up as well, to the sounds of their alarm clocks. The roads flood with loud cars. Older children go to school, while younger children get picked up by the sitters to go to the park. Mothers leave for work, and the day begins! The book closes with the open-ended question, “What do you do in the morning?” For young children, this book is the perfect introduction to history—even in the earliest moments of the school day, history is already being made! Everything that has already happened that morning becomes part of a history lesson. The beautiful watercolor illustrations also make the book a perfect introduction to different visual arts mediums, including water colors. After reading the book, I might have my students tell me about their mornings and have them watercolor their own morning scene based on their personal (and very recent histories). I might read this book first thing in the morning, to help children transition to school and reflect on their mornings at home. I might also read it later in the morning, to reflect on our morning together in the classroom. For example, I might intentionally mix up a visual schedule of our morning schedule and seek the students’ help to put it back in the correct order. I might also ask them to create their own visual schedules based on what they remember. With the help of some pictures sent in by mom and dad from the morning, or pictures taken by the teacher across the morning, children with disabilities could be easily included in the activity. Because water coloring can be scaffolded for various levels of abilities, this activity could also be suitable for a wide range of abilities. The only shortcoming I foresee with this book is that it seems to follow several different families across their morning routines--though this may have been intended to be inclusive of a wide range of morning routines, it may confuse early learners.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple look at the morning routines of families in the country, a town, and a city.