Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Graham captures a moment in time, and like many moments, it is full to the brim. A little girl draws a duck. Before she can ink in the final silver button of the duck's morning coat, her brother takes his first walking steps. In the kitchen, her mother plays the pennywhistle. A pigeon builds a nest on a cornice; a jogger shuffles by. A loaf of bread is bought; a soldier says goodbye to his mother. Birds head south; the city wakes; a baby is born; a blackbird (clearly the early bird) eats a worm. This is an elegant piece of living theater, something into which readers can nestle and observe. The natty artwork is a fine combination of ink, colors lighter than air and colors as rich as the inside of a bonbon. There are bird's-eye perspectives reminiscent of Mitsumasa Anno and the sweet, almost dreamlike broken linework of John Burningham, but the illustrations are handsome and inviting on their very own. This is not an easy book, even with its scant text. This apparent slice of the everyday moves quietly into the existential. A book to bathe in, reminding readers that something magical is happening every instant. (Picture book. 4-6)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

PreS-Gr 2 In his inimitable, deceptively simple style, Graham celebrates what can happen in a single moment and reminds readers to pause and observe. The text begins before the title page: "At 9:59 on Thursday morning, Jodie drew a duck." Next her baby brother takes his first step. As he does so, Graham cinematically pulls back farther and farther, showing other things happening at that instant: a jogger puffs by, a soldier hugs his mother, a blackbird finds a worm, a baby is born, and so on, until the story comes full circle. Jonathan falls down, Jodie tells her mother about his first step, and the clock strikes 10:00. Graham's detail-filled ink and watercolor illustrations are in full force here. Initially, Jonathan fills the page, but rapidly the view pulls back, expanding the point of view: the jogger is seen through a window, the block from above, then a bird's-eye view of the city, with the block, the hospital, and the beach visible, and finally a close-up of Mom hugging her baby boy. While the story is minimal, there is a lot to see and absorb. The detailed pictures bear repeated inspection, the characters are appealing, and the story is very child-oriented. This unusual offering will enhance collections and work equally well in classrooms or one-on-one. A worthwhile addition.— Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

ALA Booklist (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Jodie is drawing a duck in a top hat when her brother picks himself up and takes his first step. Through his familiar, homespun artwork and simple observations, Graham casts a wide net to show how the significance of this moment is mirrored throughout the city as neighbors and strangers spend their own minutes in time. Sometimes in a bird's-eye view of the bustling city, at other times in tender close-ups, readers see a boy having his shoe tied by his dad, or a soldier saying good-bye to his mother. In a two-page spread, the scene shifts to a hospital where a baby is being born. While young children may not quite connect with the magnitude of life pulsating across the pages, a slightly older crowd will have the sense, even if they can't put it into words, of both how big yet particular the world is, and what a wondrous thing it is that everyone is a part of an infinite whole. The story comes full circle, with Jodie calling her mother to witness Jonathan's steps, and that, too, seems just right.

Horn Book

At 9:59 a.m., Jodie is about to put a finishing touch on her drawing when her baby brother takes his first steps, a blackbird finds a worm, a baby is born, etc.; when Jodie completes her drawing, the moment--literally--passes. Readers will be too absorbed by the moment-in-time concept and the intimate community-centric illustrations to miss a conventional narrative.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Graham captures a moment in time, and like many moments, it is full to the brim. A little girl draws a duck. Before she can ink in the final silver button of the duck's morning coat, her brother takes his first walking steps. In the kitchen, her mother plays the pennywhistle. A pigeon builds a nest on a cornice; a jogger shuffles by. A loaf of bread is bought; a soldier says goodbye to his mother. Birds head south; the city wakes; a baby is born; a blackbird (clearly the early bird) eats a worm. This is an elegant piece of living theater, something into which readers can nestle and observe. The natty artwork is a fine combination of ink, colors lighter than air and colors as rich as the inside of a bonbon. There are bird's-eye perspectives reminiscent of Mitsumasa Anno and the sweet, almost dreamlike broken linework of John Burningham, but the illustrations are handsome and inviting on their very own. This is not an easy book, even with its scant text. This apparent slice of the everyday moves quietly into the existential. A book to bathe in, reminding readers that something magical is happening every instant. (Picture book. 4-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this quiet, thought-provoking picture book, Graham (A Bus Called Heaven) marvels at the myriad things that transpire in a moment-s time. At 9:59 one Thursday morning, Jodie is about to put the finishing touch on her drawing of a duck when her younger brother, Jonathan, pushes himself up and takes his first step. The scene moves to the kitchen where the children-s mother plays the pennywhistle, a bit sadly. From there, the same point in time is observed outside, next door, and across the city, as -an early-morning jogger puff on by,- a soldier bids goodbye to his mother, a baby is born, an old woman -push everything she owned in her cart,- and a tanker heads to China. Graham deftly depicts an array of perspectives in his signature ink-and-watercolor artwork, from a close-up portrait of Jonathan teetering toward the family dog to a view of the city skyline as seen by the seals in the bay. The understated sentences gently encapsulate moments that are mundane, melancholy, and joyful, encouraging readers to ponder all that might be happening in the world at any given instant. Ages 4-6. (Oct.)