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A Sunday Stroll — Children's Book Delightful Both In Verse And Pictures
Reprinted from The
Alexandria Daily Town Talk
Alexandria, Virginia
By Alice B. Story
There's Centipede. There's LadyBug. LadyBug puts on her little white bonnet, picks up her pretty blue parasol and visits Centipede for their weekly walk on a "pleasant Sunday in the sunny month of June."
Only, Centipede's not ready. He's been going around barefooted in his house in a tree. Would LadyBug please wait while he puts on his 100 socks and his 100 shoes?
And therein lies a children's tale, a delightful one titled simply A Sunday Stroll for ages 3 and up.
Each little sock must be pulled into place, and each little shoe takes a certain amount of time to find, fit and lace. Time, of course, being the key, and Little Miss LadyBug must find ways to pass the time while Centipede gets his feet together. She reads a book, sips a nice cuppa tea, and even takes a nap.
The tale, told in verse, eventually says: "They tied and tied his shoelaces, 100 nice and tight! They tied that night, they tied next day, they tied with all their might!"
It comes as no surprise that the Sunday walk planned for a bright sunshiny afternoon becomes a moonlight trek on Monday.
The book is fun to look at. Fun to think about. And it would be fun to ask a child, what would you do if you had to wait for a centipede to put on 100 socks and shoes?
Both author Paul Borgese and illustrator Jane Arimoto take a gentle approach. Borgese brings out lessons in mutual respect as well as in making the effort to understand another — even forgiveness for not being ready — and in the positive approach of working together instead of the negative one of giving in to the temptation to criticize.
Ms. Arimoto uses a softness in palette that takes the hard edges off just about everything — even the sea grass rising from dunes on a beach dotted by the light of fireflies.
The interior of Centipede's house in a tree has such touches as Centipede family portraits, a combination hat rack and umbrella stand holding Centipede's baseball bat, a grandfather clock whose hands show the passage of time across the pages — lots of things to look at and catch the eye and make a person think cozy, comfy thoughts.
And yet, no pabulum puddles among these pages. Borgese writes directly and his verse shows none of the labored rhyming and meter schemes that mischievously show up in some children's books. Attention to detail, too, impresses here, for LadyBug does not forget her parasol when the walk eventually begins. She carries it beneath her arm! A delightful book, but there is more.
Borgese, a poet and author who holds a bachelor's degree English from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from Cambridge University in England, began writing children's books when he worked as a volunteer at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
His children's books, all of the "values-based" variety, include the best seller When Fish Go Peopling and Hunting for the Whipperwoo. A Sunday Stroll has been named a Conservative Book Club Selection.
For more information about Paul Borgese and his books, music and performances, call 1-800-236-6048 or visit his Web site at www.PaulBorgese.com.
