Copyright 1987 - 2017, Barbara J. Roman. All rights reserved.
Author / Illustrator
Editorial Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Mama and Papa drop their daughter Jenny off at the stately Victorian home of "the aunts," with whom she is spending a Saturday afternoon. It is her first solo visit, and she is uneasy. In the parlor, the adults sit very still, hands folded in their laps: "Everybody spoke in whispers, and the clock ticked and tocked, and after a very long time it chimed, and after another long time it chimed again." The quiet is shattered when Aunt Clare reveals to Jenny the cache of treasures in the attic: dress-up clothes and toys that entertained her father many years before. Rodowsky's ( Julie's Daughter ; The Gathering Room ) hushed prose is as soothing as the soft pastels of Roman's color-pencil and watercolor drawings. Both underscore the contrast between the aunts' somber parlor and the rich diversions of the attic above--two very different places, yet equally untouched by time. This comforting story deftly conveys the strength of the bond that can exist between the old and the young--and suggests that oldsters often have a young spirit, if one knows how to seek it out. Ages 6-9. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-- One wintry afternoon, while her parents run errands, Jenny is left with her great-aunts Abby and Clare. She dreads the visit, anticipating a long afternoon of dreary boredom in the neat and tidy Victorian atmosphere of their home. Indeed, the day begins on a stifling note, with the young girl sitting and listening to a clock tick in an immaculate parlor. Aunt Abby, becoming aware of Jenny's ennui, takes her up to an attic filled with old games, toys, and clothing. By afternoon's end, the girl has realized the delights of her grand old great-aunts. Nostalgic illustrations in soft colored pencil enhance the quiet simplicity of this appealing cross-generational story. --Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kirkus Reviews
From the author of several fine novels for young people (Sydney, Herself, 1989), a book for younger readers, with the familiar theme of a child making friends with an adult. Jenny is left for an afternoon with her father's elderly aunts, whom she hardly knows. At first, all three are stiff and tongue-tied; then, while Aunt Clare naps in her chair, Aunt Abby and Jenny tiptoe to the attic, where they explore a trunk full of wonderful toys and dance to the music of an old Victrola. When her parents return, Jenny and Dad (who used to enjoy staying with the aunts when he was a boy) share a secret: still stuck in Aunt Abby's hair are bits of the pink feather boa she twirled as they danced. Roman's attractive, soft color pencil illustrations nicely capture Jenny's perception of the ornate, dauntingly tidy Victorian house and the growing warmth between the child and the old ladies. The easily read story is skillfully written, with evocative details (the attic smells ``like the insides of pockets''). An appealing bridge to early chapter books. (Fiction/Young Reader. 6-9) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Barbara J. Roman