Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Starred Review "Please try not to lose anything today," Adèle implores her little brother, Simon, as they begin their walk home from school. She might as well have asked the sun not to rise in the East, for at each stop along the way Simon loses something: first a drawing he had made, then his books, then one of his gloves. And so it goes until the children finally arrive at home, where Mama discovers that Simon has lost everything! But who can blame him? After all, the setting is Paris in the early twentieth century, and there are simply so many wonderful distractions en route that it's a miracle the children make it home at all. As for young listeners, they'll want to peruse the endpaper maps (by Baedeker) to follow the children's peregrinations through the busy City of Light and linger over McClintock's meticulous double-page depictions of Parisian neighborhoods and landmarks, identified in charming, informative endnotes. McClintock's beautifully restrained use of color may evoke a long-ago time, but her compositions are so dynamic that there's always something for contemporary children to discover.

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In this nostalgic charmer, McClintock (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Dahlia) imagines a walking tour of Paris circa 1900, traced by two distractible siblings on their way home from school. (The endpapers, taken from a 1907 Baedeker map, chart the roundabout route.) When Adèle greets Simon, "He [has] his hat and gloves and scarf and sweater, his coat and knapsack and books and crayons, and a drawing of a cat he'd made that morning." Despite his sister's pleading that he keep track of his possessions, Simon loses everything on the list. At a market, closely observed from a bird's eye–view, vendors sell carrots, books, birds and baskets, and Simon misplaces his drawing. Sharp-eyed readers might locate the boy's picture, but the siblings do not. Adèle and Simon move on to the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Jardin du Luxembourg, where they watch the Punch and Judy show and a parade of the Republican Guard. Simon drops a belonging at every stop, but in the reassuring conclusion, a queue of watchful people arrives at the children's home to return the goods. In illustrations that mimic hand-colored engravings, McClintock pictures orange autumn foliage against pale blue-gray skies. She depicts every detail with precision and warmth, from architecture and cobblestones to horses, early automobiles and period clothing. An afterword with thumbnail images identifies each location and allusions to Daumier, Atget and a few Impressionists (other allusions, such as one to <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Madeline, are left to discover). McClintock scores a double coup, creating a must-see for francophiles and an engaging hide-and-seek game for homebodies. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.) Agent: Jennie Dunham, Russell & Volkening.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

PreS-Gr 2 When Adèle meets her younger brother after school, she cautions him not to lose anything on the way home. The children take a leisurely route, visiting friends, a street market, a park, and two museums. Predictably, Simon leaves an item (his drawing, hat, knapsack, glove) behind at each location. Set in Paris during the early 20th century, this simple story is the basis for some remarkable illustrations. McClintocks pen-and-ink with watercolor technique has the feel of illustrated childrens books from that period. The retro effect is accented by an old-fashioned typeface, creamy paper, and wide borders around the spreads. The childrens route is traced on the endpapersa map of Paris from 1907. Each stop is based on a real place, some immediately recognizable, such as the Louvre and Notre-Dame. McClintocks research is described in wonderfully detailed endnotes. For example, in the picture of the bustling street market, the groupings of people are based on works by Honoré Daumier and Eugène Atget. In the Louvre, Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt help Simon find his crayons. Readers will enjoy the visual game of hide-and-seek; the more they look, the more they can find. A beautiful example of bookmaking, with plenty to charm children, this is a visual delight. Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

Four stories span three seasons, feature two sheep, and illuminate one great friendship. Blanche and Otis rake leaves in the fall, and after a storm topples Otis's tree, Blanche gives him a baby pine tree for Christmas and presents him with lawn chairs made from his old tree. Caple's soft illustrations depict the changing seasons and emphasize the quiet mood of the episodic plot.

Kirkus Reviews

Set against scenes of early 20th-century Paris, this engaging, reverse cumulative story follows a girl and her young brother when she picks him up from school. Adele cautions Simon, "Try not to lose anything today." But at each stop, Simon loses something: his cat drawing at the grocer's, his school books when he climbs a tree, his scarf in the natural history museum, a glove at the outdoor puppet show, his hat at the parade, his crayons in the art museum and his knapsack in the pastry shop. Each item is subtly hidden in the pen-and-ink illustrations and unsurprisingly, they are all returned to Simon at the end. This delightful combination of Where's Waldo , Arthur Geisertlike chain reactions and delicate, fine lines that richly detail the scenes is as enjoyable as a chocolate croissant. Attention has been paid to every design detail from the endpaper maps taken from the 1907 edition of Baedeker's Paris and Environs (with the location of the ten lost items noted), to a salute to Madeline, to comic touches like a dog wearing Simon's coat, to the two-page legend that describes each actual Parisian site and location. Tres magnifique ! (Picture book. 5-8)