Year Published: 1995
Written by: Alice Schertle
Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis
Description
“Sometimes Hetty walked with Mama down the dusty road. Sometimes she walked with Papa. But Hetty had never, ever been allowed down the dusty road all by herself.”
“Eggs for breakfast, Mama and Papa agree, would be nice, but they are too busy to go to the store. Is Hetty big enough? “Absolutely,” says Papa, so with money in her pocket and a basket over her arm, Hetty sets off for Mr. Birdie’s store. On the way, although she practices her smooth walk up the hill so she won’t break the precious eggs, she can’t help running all the way down. But what will Hetty do about the slippery log over the stream and the rock hidden in the road? And what other obstacles will Hetty face on her first grown-up adventure?”
Alice Schertle’s gentle text and E.B. Lewis’s glorious, translucent watercolors depict a loving family and the friendly and world that awaits a child’s first steps toward independence.
Booklist
“The story is remarkable for its evocative imagery, and the loving interchange between the characters sets a charming tone. The words are perfectly complemented by lewis’ dazzling, impressionistic watercolors that show the joyous power of love and depict a warmly supportive world in which Hetty ventures forth toward independence. A fine book that speaks straight to the heart.”
The Reading Teacher
“E.B. Lewis’s watercolor illustrations portray different perspectives from overhead to underneath and perfectly capture this gentle tale’s mood. The language of sound words, walking rhyme, vivid descriptive words and phrases, and lively verbs make this an excellent book for reading aloud.”
