Even if the name Robert McCloskey doesn’t ring any bells, you’ve probably heard of some of his books, maybe Make Way for Ducklings
Time of Wonder spans a summer on the Maine coast, from the easy lazy days to the first hurricane. The descriptions of nature are incredible, McCloskey does an excellent job of capturing the feeling of the water, the wildlife, the whole environment.
Time of Wonder may be a picture book, but its poetic style may make it better suited to elementary age listeners than to little ones. The descriptions in it create marvelous sensory images (amazing in a book that has won award for the illustrations, the text gives you just as much to work with). This would be an excellent choice for teaching description during writing as well as having students focus on what feelings a certain piece of writing elicits. It’s also written in second person (meaning it uses you during narration rather than I or she or he). I often find second person difficult to read (and certainly explain to students as well, in a way that makes sense), so having a picture book example available is terrific.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Children are illustrated wearing bathing suits.
Profanity – None.
Death, Violence and Gore – None.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – There is a bad storm which we later learn is a hurricane.
