One Hot Summer Day

"An effervescent city child dances through a hot summer day until a thunderstorm brings welcome relief. Executed in collages made from color photographs, imaginatively redefined in unexpected juxtaposition....A wonderful concept book, grounded in ordinary events yet touched with magic, that will strike a familiar chord with preschool audiences while enlarging their perceptions. An auspicious debut!"—Horn Book.

Publishers Weekly

A steamy afternoon in the city and the resultant thundershower form the framework for Crews's promising debut. In an engagingly matter-of-fact narration, an African American girl voices colorful observations-``Dogs pant. Hydrants are open''; ``I eat two grape Popsicles in a row.'' Her comments will be familiar to any child who has experienced the season's swelter. As visual accompaniment, arresting multi-perspective photographic collages depict the ebullient girl drawing chalk pictures on the pavement, playing on a swing; with this novel format Crews skillfully captures the childlike wonder at and appreciation of small delights. Spreads of the girl making shadows against the sidewalk and cavorting through the rain are particularly striking. Ages 2-up. (May)

Nina Crews drew inspiration from her Brooklyn neighborhood in creating the artwork for The Neighborhood Mother Goose. Nina's best-selling titles include One Hot Summer Day (Sesame Street Parents "Kid Hits" selection) and Snowball (a CCBC choice). Twice her acclaimed works have been selected as "Best of the Best" books of the year by the Chicago Public Library.

Nina Crews grew up in New York City. After graduating from Yale University in 1985, she worked in commercial animation production and contributed illustrations to magazines, including the Village Voice and Parenting.

In her own words....

"I look back to move forward on a new children's book. I try to remember a much younger me and recreate some of the things that delighted me then. These pleasures were often quite simple, perhaps the shape or taste of something or the colors that it evoked—and everything was set against a noisy, busy, city backdrop.

"I was raised in New York City. I think I've always loved it. There may have been more tall buildings than trees, but I enjoyed the city and all its variety. The people, the neighborhoods, all of the city's quirkiness were endlessly exciting.

"I started taking pictures at an early age, and the city was my first subject. I grew up in a family of artists and saw the children's-book business firsthand. My parents, Donald Crews and Ann Jonas, always encouraged my sister and me in all our art projects. I had wellrounded art training in high school but became more focused on photography in college. Since then I have been working in commercial animation production and doing freelance photo-collage illustration.

"I love making collages. Some of my favorite artists—Romare Bearden, Hannah Hoch, and Man Ray—combined photography and collage. Collage allows me to use photography playfully and to tell a story on many levels.

"I enjoy photographing children. The interaction always adds something to the project; their performances always give me new ideas. I try to keep the photography session as loose as possible. Collaging the images allows me a great deal of freedom. Basically, almost anything can happen.

"Writing the text is another kind of challenge. I try to find a good balance between the written story and the visual story. Each one should help the other. Picture books are the combination of two forms of poetry, written and visual, and their flow should be musical. I find myself reading a lot of poetry while I work on ideas.

"As a child I loved books and I loved to look. The more there was to see in any one image, the better. I also loved books that were set in city places. I hope that a new generation will get these same pleasures from my books."