Product Description

From the beloved husband-and-wife team of The Gardener, a Caldecott Honor Book

Annabelle Bernadette Clementine Dodd
Was a good little girl, though decidedly odd.
Belle lived every day as if she were grown --
She thought she could do everything all on her own.

Lucky for Belle, she has a friend at home, a caregiver named Beatrice Smith -- Bea -- who keeps a close eye on her so she doesn't get into too much mischief. Through the week Belle helps Bea as she does chores or shops or bakes, and at the end of most days they head to the beach -- Belle and Bea, hand in hand, by the sea. But one afternoon Belle sneaks outside to play all alone, and something happens that changes her life forever.

A lyrical rhymed text and pictures that pack emotion combine to present powerful portraits of a girl and her loving guardian.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151198 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780374324636
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In perhaps their most personal work to date, this fifth collaboration between the husband-and-wife team behind The Journey explores the subtle, intense bond shared by a girl and her caregiver, inspired by a similar relationship in the author's childhood.The book begins cinematically, with endpapers that feature a girl nearly swallowed by the luxurious appointments of her sepia-toned bedroom. The artist sets her off in a kind of spotlight, her red hair and blue nightgown the only splash of color; in the following panel cartoons, she could be an adult—putting on her glasses and emerging from the blankets—until she picks up a teddy bear and makes her way down the stairway, barely able to reach the banister.Thus Small (So You Want to Be President) presents Annabelle Bernadette Clementine Dodd as a girl wise beyond her years. Belle's mother kisses her on the cheek, her father consults his watch, and Bea, a quietly graceful woman with her hair neatly tucked into a bun, packs the parents' luggage in the trunk. As the parents speed away, Belle leans against Bea with their arms entwined, the girl's height at perhaps Bea's waist.Stewart wastes not a word as her text sets a rhythm to the duo's days, the first day of the week spent hanging laundry on the line, the second ironing, etc. Each afternoon the two break for a stroll on the beach, and, depicted in Small's wordless spreads, the scenes underscore a bond so strong that the child and caregiver need not speak. Bea invites Belle into her world, leading Belle up the back stairs into her cozy room, and taking the girl to her church, filled with the African-American congregation's voices raised in song ("Belle sang best"). When tragedy nearly strikes one day, it is as though Bea feels in her bones that something is wrong, and when she comes to Belle's rescue, the portraits that follow convey their ineffable connection. On the final page, Small shows the now grown Belle in surroundings much more akin to Bea's special room in Belle's house than to her parents' finery—and readers feel the full impact of Bea's life on Belle's own. Ages 5-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3–Annabelle Bernadette Clementine Dodd, Belle for short, is the child of wealthy parents who have no time for her. Even before the story begins, readers see her climbing down the stairs to kiss them good-bye, her father glancing at his watch all the while. But Belle has Beatrice Smith, a kindly housekeeper with whom she spends her days sharing Bea's chores (creating more havoc than help). While they have specific chores each day of the week, they always make time for delightful excursions to the beach. Then one day, Belle decides that she can go alone, with nearly disastrous results. The rhyming text describes the loving relationship between Bea and Belle, and the woman's infinite patience with her young charge. Small's cartoon watercolor-and-crayon illustrations, most of them spreads, depict a mansion on a hill overlooking the sea, Belle's grand bedroom, ornate parlors, and a time when wringer washing machines, clotheslines, and electric fans were the last word in luxury. The pictures of Bea hugging the little girl to her breast after nearly losing her, the woman's grief at what might have happened, and Belle's efforts to cheer her up are especially poignant. However, the last image of the two shows them still oceans apart, with Bea offering hot chocolate and apologies and Belle still visibly distraught, head in her hands. It's bound to leave children unsatisfied.–Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The husband-and-wife team whose exceptional titles include the Caldecott Honor Book The Gardener (1997) offer a nostalgic picture book that raises some provocative questions.

Tightly rhymed couplets and sweeping illustrations tell the story, set in the first half of the twentieth century, of sprightly redheaded Belle, child of prodigiously wealthy parents, and Bea, Belle's black caregiver and the household's maid. Belle's parents are detached and largely absent; they appear early in the story, step into a luxurious convertible, and zoom away. Every day, it's just Belle and Bea in the enormous seaside mansion. Stewart's rhymes follow child and guardian through a week of activities: Bea tackles household chores, while Belle lends a hand. When Belle's "help" results in the inevitable messes, they put down their brooms and baking pans and head to the glimmering seashore in their backyard: "They'd go to the beach--their castles were grand-- / Belle and Bea, by the sea, hand in hand."

Their routine is disrupted when Belle marches off to the beach alone and nearly drowns while trying to rescue a ball. Bea arrives just in time to scoop the terrified child from the waves, and in a final scene, Belle ("all dry now, and in a safe place") offers a warm drink to the distressed Bea. The last spread features an image of a redheaded adult, the grown-up Belle, gazing thoughtfully out a window, accompanied by a rhymed tribute: "There was a good woman, / I called her my friend. / She's in my heart now-- / She took care of me then."

Stewart tells her story mostly from a child's viewpoint, presenting Bea as a wholly devoted caregiver, just as a young child might view a beloved nanny. The words show affection between Belle and the ever-encouraging Bea, and the singsong rhythm of the rhymes tries to reinforce the sunny view of the relationship.

What's most puzzling here is the closing image of the adult Belle, looking back, which introduces a mature viewpoint into the story--that of a grown-up with the experience to understand the complexity of the black nanny-white child relationship, particularly in a pre-civil rights era. If the book is meant as a nostalgic, autobiographical tribute, as the author's note suggests, and it is not told entirely from a child's point of view, why not portray Bea in more depth? In Libba Moore Gray's Dear Willie Rudd (1993), for example, a white woman gratefully remembers her black caregiver, but her gratitude is deepened with an adult's understanding of the difficult racial and societal pressures that caretaker Willie Rudd must have endured and a sense of what Willie's life must have really been like.

In The Friend, it's mostly the sweeping ink-and-watercolor illustrations, including many wordless spreads that add the nuances. Small's art hints not only at Bea's great affection but also at the deep strains and stresses of her life, particularly in the sweeping lines he uses to define her weary body language. After the water rescue, when Belle is safe, Small captures both Bea's love and anguish in a pose that beautifully telegraphs profound layers of emotion that seem at odds with the brief, bouncing text. Children may be left wondering why, if Belle is safe, Bea is still so distraught--an excellent question that's cut short by the abrupt ending.

Stewart's story is a heartfelt tribute, and some children growing up with nannies will see themselves. But there's discord between the beautiful pictures, the rhyme, and the shifting viewpoint. Why not allow the adult apparently telling the story to remember her caregiver with empathy as well as love and show that she finally understands, as a young Belle probably could not, that Bea's life, and their relationship, was much more complicated than can be captured in cheerful verses? Small conveys some of that empathy in his pictures, but the words never allow Bea to move beyond her narrow, simplistic role of saintly, long-suffering caregiver. The result risks perpetuating stereotypes and is a missed opportunity to explore an important, complex subject. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A MUST for Kids with Nannies or the Equivalent!
This award winning husband and wife team (The Gardener and The Library) has created a beautiful, moving tribute to "all the people across the world who have saved the lives of children by paying attention when others did not." Stewart's lyrical rhyming tale is apparently an ode to the African-American housekeeper, Ola Beatrice Smith, who took loving care of her as a child when her parents were too busy to give her the devoted, day to day, loving attention she needed and wanted. Small's gorgeous, colorful watercolor illustrations reveal the playful, loving relationship between the slight, red-haired young Belle and her strong, hardworking, loveable caretaker Bea. A visual delight, they perfectly illuminate the close relationship between two by showing Belle "helping" Bea with her household chores, as well as their late afternoon playtimes at a stunning beach. Criticism directed at the stereotypical rich white child taken care of by an African American servant whose outside life is completely ignored should be considered in light of the book's autobiographical and historical context. (Small's illustrations suggest the post WWII era). Recommended for all children aged 4 to 8 and highly recommended those who spend significant time in the care of caretakers other than their parents.

* SWEET FRIENDSHIP SPEAKS *
"The Friend" is author Sarah Stewart's salute to a childhood friend who was a surrogate parent - a 'stand-in' for a too-busy mother. It is the poignant story of little Belle's friendship with housekeeper Bea, and of a painful void being filled 'way beyond duty.(How could anyone be paid adequately for love that transcends pity and paycheck?)

This sweetest story is written for children AND adults, and may we all learn about valuing the beautiful varieties of friendship. The ocean's healing grace is evident when each day "Belle and Bea, by the sea, hand in hand" grow in friendship and reliance on one another.

But then the day comes when little Belle challenges the ocean with her own bravado and audacity. David Small (husband of the author) paints the rescue: a scene that sums up the author's gratitude for life, for friendship.

This lovely story makes me want to be a pretend librarian and gather adult friends in a circle for story-telling. I would tell how Sarah Stewart's words and David Small's paintings grab my heart. Memories surface as I see the picture in the locket and I have a renewed appreciation for the blessedness of my own childhood.

*REVIEWER mcHAIKU* suggests you 'give yourself up' to the tears as well as the laughter in this lively, loving poem that is matched by exquisitely imaginative illustrations.

Poor little rich girl...
This is a charming story told in rhyme about a little girl (Belle) who's parents are too busy for her, but her caregiver (Bea) always has time for her, despite the numerous chores around the house. Each day of the week is given two full page spreads--the first layout is devoted to describing verbally what that day holds, and how Belle makes Bea's day a little brighter, just by being a little girl. The second layout is always a sweeping view of the beach, ocean or house, and how Belle and Bea are enjoying their playtime there. The story ends rather abruptly, but readers are left thinking about that special adult they had in their life when they were children. The illustrations are colorful and detailed (I love Belle dancing with a broom), and readers will sense all the emotions the words are conveying in the drawings. A book that should appeal to the adult reading it as much as the child.