Over the moon to see my favourite picture book of all time, here.
I chose never to read the book’s ‘spoiler’ title, to my children so I saw the mystery and suspense build each reading, as they traced, fascinated, all the details of Marc Simont’s unique and brilliantly observed characters going through humdrum motions, getting ready and travelling in all their differing ways until …at last, there they are - together. And that simple line, ‘their work is to play’ says so much. Poetry.
Thank you for your great review and I really hope that thanks to you this treasure will be better known outside of the US.
I love this book! Taylor, thanks, as always, for taking a deep dive. I also love her first book, Roar and More, edited by Ursula Nordstrom. And Marc Simont's art moves from whimsical to hilarious and back again. Ursula chose him to illustrate Janice Udry's A Tree is Nice, for which he won the Caldecott in 1957. Oh, to have lived in NYC with all these talented people during the mid-20th century!
I love this book so much. I own the Spanish edition. I discovered it selling books at Madrid's book fair. I read it one morning and loved it so much it was the book I sold the most! The lovely editor gave me one copy as a gift at the end. I read it often. Marc Simont's illustrations complement the text so well! How he masters the poses and the expressions of the musicians with so little traces! I also love the cream background of the pages, the same color as the windows of the first spread. It is as if we were looking through them.
I've recently discovered your Substack and as someone who has fallen back in love with picture books as an adult, I'm so excited to read your newsletter! This book looks fantastic, and I immediately placed a hold on it through our interlibrary loan system!
Such a great book. She manages so well to break the rule that picture book texts shouldn't describe too much. And Marc Simont was the perfect creative partner for this. You write that it was never banned, and it's true that I can't find any evidence that it was ever banned or censored. But I do remember Karla telling me that she wrote "The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed" (a follow-up to the Philharmonic) in response to some group in Texas (school district? librarians? parents? I'm not sure) who at least challenged the book. Simont's illustrations of a bunch of big naked guys undressing and taking steamy showers are hilarious.
Thanks, Sergio. I wish I would have had more time to write this one—I wanted to look into their second collaboration and write about it (I don't own the book yet). I think it would have helped inform this one better, to know about that book. It sounds hilarious! The two of them made a great pair! As did you and Karla!
Read this aloud the other day and realized: because of the trim size, this is an ideal “sit next to each other and read” experience. So all of that text (which really does take a while to read aloud!) gives the child plenty of time to absorb/get lost in/give story to the gorgeous gorgeous illustrations! It’s so smart!
I completely agree! It’s too small with too many details and words for reading aloud to a large group of kids. Perfect for lying in bed next to them and looking at the details together.
This book is so damn good it’s almost impossible to explain unless you’ve experienced it — but you somehow did it here with skill, insight, and thoughtful consideration (as usual!)
One of our faves! My daughter especially likes taking inventory of all the creatures left at home - dog, bird, baby. We love YOUR writing too - thank you for your lovely musings.
Over the moon to see my favourite picture book of all time, here.
I chose never to read the book’s ‘spoiler’ title, to my children so I saw the mystery and suspense build each reading, as they traced, fascinated, all the details of Marc Simont’s unique and brilliantly observed characters going through humdrum motions, getting ready and travelling in all their differing ways until …at last, there they are - together. And that simple line, ‘their work is to play’ says so much. Poetry.
Thank you for your great review and I really hope that thanks to you this treasure will be better known outside of the US.
I wasn’t familiar with this one, but now I want to find a copy!
I love this book! Taylor, thanks, as always, for taking a deep dive. I also love her first book, Roar and More, edited by Ursula Nordstrom. And Marc Simont's art moves from whimsical to hilarious and back again. Ursula chose him to illustrate Janice Udry's A Tree is Nice, for which he won the Caldecott in 1957. Oh, to have lived in NYC with all these talented people during the mid-20th century!
Adore this book, yes!
I love this book so much. I own the Spanish edition. I discovered it selling books at Madrid's book fair. I read it one morning and loved it so much it was the book I sold the most! The lovely editor gave me one copy as a gift at the end. I read it often. Marc Simont's illustrations complement the text so well! How he masters the poses and the expressions of the musicians with so little traces! I also love the cream background of the pages, the same color as the windows of the first spread. It is as if we were looking through them.
I've recently discovered your Substack and as someone who has fallen back in love with picture books as an adult, I'm so excited to read your newsletter! This book looks fantastic, and I immediately placed a hold on it through our interlibrary loan system!
Oh great! I hope you love it!
Such a great book. She manages so well to break the rule that picture book texts shouldn't describe too much. And Marc Simont was the perfect creative partner for this. You write that it was never banned, and it's true that I can't find any evidence that it was ever banned or censored. But I do remember Karla telling me that she wrote "The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed" (a follow-up to the Philharmonic) in response to some group in Texas (school district? librarians? parents? I'm not sure) who at least challenged the book. Simont's illustrations of a bunch of big naked guys undressing and taking steamy showers are hilarious.
Sergio--thanks for the tip on the Dallas Titans book. I have not seen it but just ordered a used copy. Can't wait.
Nancy
Thanks, Sergio. I wish I would have had more time to write this one—I wanted to look into their second collaboration and write about it (I don't own the book yet). I think it would have helped inform this one better, to know about that book. It sounds hilarious! The two of them made a great pair! As did you and Karla!
Read this aloud the other day and realized: because of the trim size, this is an ideal “sit next to each other and read” experience. So all of that text (which really does take a while to read aloud!) gives the child plenty of time to absorb/get lost in/give story to the gorgeous gorgeous illustrations! It’s so smart!
I completely agree! It’s too small with too many details and words for reading aloud to a large group of kids. Perfect for lying in bed next to them and looking at the details together.
This book is so damn good it’s almost impossible to explain unless you’ve experienced it — but you somehow did it here with skill, insight, and thoughtful consideration (as usual!)
❤️Thanks, always! ❤️
One of my all time favorites! Love the specificity of the characters and the restrained color palette.
Exactly!
One of our faves! My daughter especially likes taking inventory of all the creatures left at home - dog, bird, baby. We love YOUR writing too - thank you for your lovely musings.
Thank you!!!