  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2—It's sunset on a Friday night, and a child narrator and his father head out on a motorcycle through the darkening city streets toward a school. Inhaling the scent of lilacs as they enter the school lot, the narrator poignantly explains, "We pull into our space./Dad hauls out a ring of keys/as big as the rising moon./He opens the door,/and the building sighs./Come, it whispers to us." The boy's father is the school's custodian, and, together, the father and son work their way from room to room in the half-light of gym, the cafeteria, the hallways, and the library. Hesse captures a hushed, childlike wonder at a boy's father's evening custodial job, while Karas's quiet, powerful illustrations command a palette of grays and play with illumination to emphasize the details: an orange basketball, the green library sofa, or the brightness of the dream ocean in the book's last spread. VERDICT Simultaneously muted but alive with detail, this title offers an extraordinary glimpse into an endearing father-son relationship, a livelihood, and an ordinary life. Recommended for all picture book shelves.—Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 09/01/2018 *Starred Review* A young boy relates his experiences accompanying his father, a school custodian, to work in this eloquent, lovely picture book. Atop a motorcycle, the two (wearing helmets) set off “over the darkening bay, riding the dusky highway.” Once there, the boy joins his father, from the gym (“I shoot baskets in the half-light, the ball’s bounce mingling with the shoosh of Dad’s broom”) to the cafeteria to the library, where the boy shares a book and then naps while his father finishes up. Eventually, they head home at sunrise, where sleep and dreams await. In lyrical language, Hesse vividly describes the details of what the father’s job entails, all the while conveying the joy of spending time together, from helping clean—“We tack back and forth down the hallway, sweeping the school from stem to stern”—to taking a break in the courtyard and eating homemade sandwiches. It’s clear from the pictures that the boy and his father aren’t wealthy, but the matter-of-fact story instead focuses on adventuresome details of the work, from the motorcycle ride to the revered ring of keys to the baseball game on the radio. Karas’ charming, fine-lined artwork, in panels and full-page spreads, uses a soft, muted palette as well as careful shadows and light to highlight both their nighttime routine and the sweet affection of a special father-son relationship. Quiet, warmhearted, and endearing. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. Loading...
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