Herman and Rosie

by Gus Gordon, Gus Gordon (Illustrator)

Overview

Once upon a time in a very busy city, on a very busy street, in two very small apartments, lived...

Herman and Rosie.

Herman liked playing the oboe, the smell of hot dogs in the winter, and watching films about the ocean.

Rosie liked pancakes, listening to old jazz records, and watching films about the ocean.

They both loved the groovy rhythm of the city, but sometimes the bustling crowds and constant motion left them lonely, until one night ...

A Neal Porter Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466845176
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	10/15/2013
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Gus Gordon is an Australian born writer and illustrator of books for small people and older people who like small people's books. Gus lives with his wife and three kids on the Northern beaches of Sydney. Herman and Rosie is his first book with Roaring Brook Press.

Editorial Reviews

…charmingly illustrated…

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Harrison Smith

While the title makes it sound like they’re a couple, Australian author/illustrator Gordon’s crocodile hero and deerlike heroine remain unknown to one another until the penultimate spread, even though they live in adjacent buildings and have important things in common: a love of music (oboe for him, jazz singing for her) and “watching films about the ocean.” But that’s life in the big city—New York City, in particular, which Gordon brings alive through lyrical drawings and inventive collage. His soul-mate characters are equally terrific: two sweet but lonely souls (think Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine—or maybe it’s Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) who live in tiny apartments and eke out a living while keeping their wistful chins up. If it sounds too sophisticated for the target audience, rest assured it isn’t (although some may grow anxious when both characters lose their jobs). Readers of all ages will fall for Herman and Rosie from the start, and Gordon knows how to keep the dramatic and romantic tension just taut enough to keep the pages turning toward their inevitable meeting. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

* Readers of all ages will fall for Herman and Rosie from the start, and Gordon knows how to keep the dramatic and romantic tension just taut enough to keep the pages turning toward their inevitable meeting.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“In bustling New York, anthropomorphic croc Herman and Rosie (a goat?) inhabit parallel lives until they discover they're soul mates . . . Sweetly celebrates artistic bonding in the Big Apple.” —Kirkus Reviews

“* Not since Petra Mathers's Sophie and Lou (2001) has a picture book, the arts, and romance converged so charmingly.” —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

10/01/2013
Gr 1–3—Herman Schubert loves to play the oboe and Rosie Bloom sings, but when they lose their jobs, "everything [falls] out of tune"-until they happen to meet. There is, of course, nothing wrong with a picture book in which the illustrations are best appreciated by adults who like vintage postcards, the inventive use of collage materials, and a plethora of visual gags. But when such artwork is coupled with a story about the genesis of friendship between two adult neighbors in New York City, one has to wonder to whom the effort is truly pitched. Merely portraying the major characters as an alligator and an antelope (or maybe she's a deer?) does not ensure child appeal. A working knowledge of the lives of office workers and jazz singers in New York might provide an entrée for some children, but that's still a fairly narrow subset of potential readers.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

2013-08-15
In bustling New York, anthropomorphic croc Herman and Rosie (a goat?) inhabit parallel lives until they discover they're soul mates. They live in tiny apartments in adjacent buildings. Herman plays oboe and sells "things" in a call center--until he's canned for not selling enough of them. Rosie's a restaurant dishwasher who takes singing lessons and gigs at a jazz club on Thursdays--until it's shuttered. In pictures and text, Gordon cleverly foretells the pair's entwined destiny, engaging readers conspiratorially as Herman and Rosie continually almost connect. Each, hearing the other's music by chance, is mesmerized for days. Both love "watching films about the ocean" and turn to Cousteau documentaries for solace after their twin career setbacks. Traipsing the city (Gordon provides a map and key for their concurrent rambles), they simultaneously buy hot dogs from the same vendor--without meeting. Finally, Rosie hears "the familiar sounds of a groovy little jazz number" and leaps "to follow that tune." The penultimate double-page spread shows them meeting--at last!--on Herman's roof against a luminous full moon. The final page shows they've formed a quartet--The Cousteaus. Gordon utilizes vintage postcards, ledgers and maps to create collaged tableaux. Evocative of William Steig and Bernard Waber, the pictures at their best juxtapose New York's duality: its cacophonous enormity and charming intimacy. Sweetly celebrates artistic bonding in the Big Apple. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews