Book Descriptions
for The Old Man by Sarah V. and Claude DuBois
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
A child begins her day in the city. Not far away, “it’s time for the old man to get up, too.” He has spent a cold, uncomfortable night on the street, and now he is hungry. He moves slowly through his day, keeping to himself but often bothered by others: Policemen nudge him awake on the curb, telling him to move along; people stare at him on the bus. At the shelter, he can’t remember his name—required—upon checking in, so he heads to the park instead. There, the child who appeared at the start of the book offers him a sandwich and, with a smile, tells him he looks like a teddy bear. Bolstered by the child’s kindness, the man returns to the shelter, where he identifies himself as “Teddy” upon entering. Soft illustrations and plenty of white space accompany this quiet story about the power of a kind word, a small, generous act, and a nonjudgmental attitude. (Ages 4–6)
CCBC Choices 2019. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2019. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Day breaks over the town. Get up, everybody! It's time to go to school. For the old man too, it's time to wake up. The night was icy and he's hungry. His name? He doesn't know . . .
This is the story of a person with no job, no family, no home--a nobody, who can't even remember what he was once named. But his day changes when he is noticed by a child.
Drawn in soft, watercolor pencil, this is an important story for our times. This gentle, compelling book will appeal to a child's sense of justice and to every reader's compassion.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.