Donald Crews, the Caldecott Honor artist and award-winning creator of  Freight Train ,  Truck , and many other classic picture books for young children, writes of his own childhood experiences visiting his grandparents in Florida. Share this book at home or in the classroom. Everyone will enjoy the memories of a perfect day in the country, exploring and playing, and the connections among family members across generations. Four children travel with their mother, and when the train arrives in Cottondale, Florida, the summer at Bigmama's house begins! Donald Crews brilliantly evokes the sights, sounds, and emotions of a memorable childhood experience. Beautifully and richly illustrated, this is a wonderful choice for family reading and classroom sharing. "A very special book by a superb artist and storyteller."— The Horn Book A fun read-aloud, it also helps children ages 3 to 6 easily learn about how to share details of place in storytelling. Grade 1-4-- In this very appealing picture-book reminiscence, Crews invites readers to journey back to his childhood. Four African-American children and their mother travel by train to visit grandparents in a rural town. When the family reaches its destination, the children inspect each room of the house. Outside, they investigate the yard, the toolshed, the barn, the stable, and, finally, the pond. To their everlasting delight and satisfaction, they see that everything is "still the same." Crews departs from the graphic style employed so memorably in Freight Train (1978) and Parade (1983, both Greenwillow). His watercolor and goache illustrations are an attractive blend of simplicity and sophistication. His expertise is evident throughout. Characters are placed in their setting with utmost consideration, and are dressed in colors that create a sort of "warm rainbow" scattered about the farm and the happy household. This offering is intended for a somewhat older audience than Crews's earlier works, and will work well in classrooms. It is similar in mood and content to James Stevenson's When I Was Nine (Greenwillow, 1986) and Cynthia Rylant's When I Was Young in the Mountains (Dutton, 1982). A wonderful selection for family story times. --Eve Larkin, Chicago Public Library Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Beginning with the ride on the old Southern Railway car (``colored'' says the sign on the wall), the sights, sounds, and warm delights of a summer visit to Grandma in Crews's own childhood--a three-day trip from somewhere up north. Lovingly, Crews explores the old homestead through the eyes of the four returning kids; though light comes from a kerosene lamp, and water from the well, Grandma's place is spacious and well kept, and there's a barn, a stable, eggs to look for, and ``plenty of water for fishing and swimming.'' Best, the whole family gathers- -''We talked so much we hardly had time to eat.'' Crews captures both the children's joy and enthusiasm and his own nostalgia in a nicely understated text and, especially, in his wonderfully evocative illustrations. Adopting a more realistic style than he used in his two Caldecott Honor books, Crews nicely accommodates the many period details with a subtle palette that emphasizes browns and greens to convey a richly sensory experience. A grand alternative to the plethora of predictable books about white kids visiting grandparents on stereotypical family farms. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. “A loving tribute to memories that defy the passage of time.” - Booklist (starred review) “A rich sensory experience.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “For millions of kids, summertime means visits with grandparents. They’ll relate to this autobiographical book, in which the author recalls his annual stays at his grandparents’ farm in Cottondale, Fla., in the 1940s and ‘50s.” (in the article “ 6 Standout Picture Books About Kids and Their Grandparents”) - Brightly When the train arrived in Cottondale, the summer at Bigmama's house in Florida began. Donald Crews brilliantly evokes the sights, sounds, and emotions of a memorable childhood experience. "A very special book by a superb artist and storyteller."--Horn Book. Donald Crews is the renowned creator of many celebrated children's books, including the Caldecott Honor Books Freight Train and Truck . He and his wife, Ann Jonas, live in New York's Hudson River Valley.