Hot Day on Abbott Avenue: An African American Picture Book About Friends and Forgiveness for Kids (Ages 4-7)

Book arrived in perfect condition; good read for my students’ cultural quarter

Very nice book for children about working through disagreements. Wonderful text and spectacular pictures. I’m familiar with this author and this doesn’t disappoint. Rich vocabulary.

An interesting illustration style, with photographs of mixed-media collage. There are lots of layers, with tissue paper and felt and other textured things. It's a prose poem where the repetition is enough to create parallelism but not too much where it becomes annoying. The diction isn't overly simplistic and the pictures are interesting to look at. The message is good, but the story is rather uncomplicated and not very deep. Two girls are mad at each other because one of them bought the last ice pop of their favorite flavor from the ice cream man, and heat of the day isn't helping anyone's mood. All the adults are trying to get them to be best friends again, and they just refuse until people down the street start jumping rope and they go jump rope too. They start having fun, and the ice cream man comes, and one of them buys the last ice pop of that flavor and they share it, and they're friends again. The end. Message: People get mad at their friends, but then they get over it. For more children's book reviews, see my website at drttmk dot com.

It's a steaming summer day, the sun beating down on the sidewalk, too hot to even flutter a fan. Kishi sits alone on her front porch; Renee sprawls on the grass, looking for four-leaf clovers. Although best friends, neither girl will speak to one another on this sweltering summer morning, even when Mrs. Johnson asks them to help with her crossword puzzle, or when Mr. Paul invites them to weed his flower bed. Later, one girl plays with the hose, pretending she's under a waterfall, the other plays hopscotch, still alone. It seems the girls have had a falling out over which one got the last blue popsicle that morning, leaving the other with none. Both girls are stubborn, determined not to give in, until they hear the seductive thump of a jump rope hitting the ground, the chant of neighborhood friends, "Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack..." Neither can resist. Soon find they are turning the ropes for Double Dutch, everyone jumping for all they're worth. When the ice cream truck comes around for the second time on this sizzling summer day, all the neighborhood kids run to buy blue popsicles. Kishi and Renee find themselves in the same predicament as in the morning, only this time they have learned their lesson, splitting the popsicle, one-half for each. Now it is a "feeling-good-about-being-best-friends-again-day". The images that accompany the story are quite remarkable, paper collages cleverly arranged to form the figures, layered for dimension, with bright colors, all of it creating a sense of streets baking in the summer sun, two girls bored without a best friend to pass the time with, but unwilling to bridge the gap. This is a great lesson in coming-together-after-a-fight and learning to share. Beautifully written and illustrated. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

This book gets the emotions exactly right -- best friends losing their tempers and staying mad forever. Forever! This one makes a good family read-aloud -- every kid can relate.

As the fat sun looms in the air above Abbott Avenue, Renée and Kishi, with tempers as sizzling as this summer day, vow that they will never be friends again. They spend their afternoon sneaking peaks at each other, searching for a glimmer of an apology or a hint of regret, yet knowing neither would raise a white flag of defeat on this "never-speak-to-her-again-even-if-she-was-the-last-person-on-earth" day. Suddenly, a chant, visually winding around the pages' illustrations, begins to echo in the distance. Renée and Kishi emerge from their solitary playgrounds and follow the Siren-like sounds of "humming ropes" that seem to kiss the air. Soon, the pangs of the day are erased with a few hops of double dutch and the sweet taste of a shared blue ice pop. This lyrical story awakens the senses with a harmonious blend of engaging text and cut paper and found-object collage, sending the reader on an everyday journey with everyday magic. The illustrations' hues seem to melt off the page, saturating the reader's thoughts with a simmering brew of intrigue and dizzying chaos. While the collages may appear an arresting whirlwind of activity, the energy provided through this medium enhances the innocence of the text, allowing the words to capture the beauty of each moment of the story. This subtle message, emphasizing the challenges of friendship and forgiveness, is sure to please children of every age.

I thought what I would be getting a new copy of this book; but when it arrived in a intact box the book had all kinds of creased along the spin both front and back. It gives the appearance of a used book rather than a new one. I would want this book if it were used but I paid for a new copy. Just a little disappointed. The story however is wonderful for teaching character changes.

This is a story about friendship and forgiveness. On a sweltering summer day best friends, Kishi and Renee, are at odds with each and refuse to talk to one another. It was only at the end of a hot day that they hear a nursery rhyme chant from down the street...nothing like a fun round of double dutch. At the end of the day ice pops, jump rope and laughter always win. While the illustrations are unique they are a bit out of the box for me. 3 stars

I was looking for a book for a mentor text of beautiful language. I was disappointment with the lack of text to tell the story.