Messenger, Messenger

I've read all of Robert Burleigh's many fine children's books, and this could be my favorite. Like the bike ridden by messenger man, the text is spare and poetic. Children will love the energy and warmth of the story. They will feel what it's like to be "messenger man," confident in his worth and the importance of his work. The art is perfect, creating and capturing the confidence of Calvin Curbhopper from early morning through late evening.Children will ask you to read this book again and again -- and you'll love doing so.

Robert Burleigh's _Messenger, Messenger_ is an exciting portrait of a bicycle messenger in a big city. In rhyming poetry, we meet Calvin Curbhopper, a young African-American bicycle messenger, as he moves around a big city making deliveries. He's constantly on the move. It's an exciting look at the bicycle messenger's life!In our glimpse of Calvin's apartment, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his mattress is on the floor, and his place looks sparsely furnished and more than a little sloppy. He's got a bookshelf full of books, an alarm clock, some music, and not a lot more.Calvin works hard and enjoys himself, yet he doesn't have a lot of stuff! So few children's books even present a glimpse inside the homes of single adults. It's a minor point, but it's nice to get a look into Calvin's pad, especially because it isn't the 3 bedroom family suburban spread I'm accustomed to seeing in picture books. The lines in _Messenger, Messenger_ are poetic, and move along with a nice rhythm. It's easy to feel the rhythm of the cyclist as he moves through traffic.My two year old son loves this book. He likes the rhythm of the story, and now I think, (gasp) that he might want to be a bike messenger when he grows up. So much for engineering and medicine, I guess.There aren't many picture books which portray the life and lifestyle of the bicycle messenger. My son and I both like this one.You should take a look at _Messenger, Messenger_. ken32