"Black and White" by David Macaulay

APA Citation:

Macaulay, D. (1990). Black and white. N.Y., N.Y.:
             Houghton Mifflin Company.

Summary:

             This book is really neat because it makes the reader think critically.  It begins with what seems to be  four separate stories.  But by the end of the book the reader will discover that the separate stories are all connected.  First, a young boy is a passenger on a train.  He is on his way to meet his parents. On the way he meets a robber and witnesses events that occur in the other stories.  Then, there is a story of children who have problem parents.  They don't make time to play with their children or communicate with each other because they are self-absorbed.  Yet, the parents change due to a long wait at the train station where they learn to play and have fun.  They carry this over to their home and invite their children to play with them. In the end, the reader learns that the narrator is the son in the story.  He has imagined all four stories as he plays with his toy train. 

Illustrations:

             The illustrations in this book clarifies the plot of the story.  It is through the pictures that the reader learns how the different stories are all connected.  The pictures also provide a differing viewpoint. The boy on the train thinks boulders are blocking their passage.  Yet, readers can see that cows are in the way.

My Rating:

Thumbs Up!