Heron Street Hardcover – January 1, 1989 by Ann Warren Turner (Author), Lisa Desimini (Illustrator)
 
Exploration of a marsh near the sea that used to be home for many animals and birds, but that men have slowly destroyed and turned into a noisy city
 
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-- Magnificent paintings consistently delineate and enhance each action of this story about the development of and changes in a marsh from the time of its settlement before the American Revolution through the present. The rhythmic sounds of the story are carefully reflected in the placement and variety of sizes of the illustrations such as double-page spreads, a small box on the left balanced by a full page on the right, and a vertical triptych with a written sound under each panel. Old fashioned learning, as in the picture of school children chanting, "In Adam's fall, we sinned all," seems to be a metaphor for the mode of thinking that allows a newly built street to be named Heron, but chases the real birds away. The skilled hand and eye of the illustrator and the sensitive ear and voice of the writer combine enthusiastically in Heron Street. The complex theme of urbanization is gently presented so that even young children can understand the general concept. McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings (Viking, 1941), Renata Von Tscharner's New Providence (HBJ, 1987), and the Provensens' Shaker Lane (Viking, 1987) touch upon the same topic, but each is unique and separate from Heron Street.
-Gratia Banta, Germantown Public Library, Ohio
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
 
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