The Blue Table

by Chris Raschka, Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Overview

It’s time to celebrate family, community, generosity, and giving! Two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka’s stunning picture book is the perfect pick to share whenever family and friends gather together to celebrate and give thanks, no matter the occasion.

Spend the day around the heart of a home: the blue table. A shopping list is written, food is prepared, and the table is set. Guests arrive, thanks are given, and a meal is shared. What then? It’s time to pitch in and clean up, of course!

Limited text, bright colors, and stunning collage illustrations make The Blue Table ideal for the youngest reader and for storytime sharing. In just thirty-two pages, two-time Caldecott Medalist and New York Times–bestselling picture book creator Chris Raschka captures the very essence of community—and gratitude.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062937766
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals—one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation five times. He lives in New York City with his family.

Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals—one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation five times. He lives in New York City with his family.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/21/2020

Spare text and images center the titular cerulean table, around which a small family—and later, a second—gathers to share meals and gratitude. Instead of showing human figures, Caldecott Medalist Raschka showcases tabletop objects and dishes from a bird’s-eye view, which appear and disappear as the pages turn. In colorful illustrations crafted from watercolor and cut-paper collage, a glass of milk first signifies “a child.” Across the gutter, the addition of a coffee cup and saucer to the surface indicates another arrival—“a parent.” And a page turn later, “another parent” joins, the table now host to a second coffee cup, a plate of cinnamon rolls, and activities befitting a comfortable breakfast (a newspaper, a book, crayons and paper). “Good things/ from the garden,// the store,/ and the farm” are assembled next, among them veggies and a turkey, and a leaf is added to the blue table in preparation for “one more family.” Images include hands and forearms in a variety of skin tones as all gather, “thankful,” for a many-coursed meal. A gentle picture book that celebrates the joy to be found in both everyday routines and holiday abundance. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A blue table symbolizes and facilitates the connections among family members and between friends. . . . [Raschka’s] paintings reflect the action and objects described while adding nuance and detail. . . . A charming and cozy celebration of the places and routines that anchor and connect us.”   — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Spare text and images center the titular cerulean table, around which a small family—and later, a second—gathers to share meals and gratitude. . . . Caldecott Medalist Raschka showcases tabletop objects and dishes . . . in colorful illustrations crafted from watercolor and cut-paper collage . . . A gentle picture book that celebrates the joy to be found in both everyday routines and holiday abundance.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A simple story of gathering and gratitude. . . . Bright watercolor pictures will offer opportunities to engage young readers in discussions about what the pictures mean and what they might enjoy for a shared meal. . . . [A] story with an indelible blue table as its hearth.” — School Library Journal

“Minimal text treats a compact blue table as the center of a holiday as a family gathers . . . Raschka’s fluid watercolors balance the dreamy with the homey . . . A gentle early treatment of holiday gatherings.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Watercolor and collage illustrations match the text’s simplicity . . . The most pleasing arrival is anticipated by wordless pages in which the table is extended to accommodate ‘one more family.’ . . . Evoke[s] any occasion of togetherness, perhaps providing comfort and hope.” — Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

Watercolor and collage illustrations match the text’s simplicity . . . The most pleasing arrival is anticipated by wordless pages in which the table is extended to accommodate ‘one more family.’ . . . Evoke[s] any occasion of togetherness, perhaps providing comfort and hope.

Horn Book Magazine

Minimal text treats a compact blue table as the center of a holiday as a family gathers . . . Raschka’s fluid watercolors balance the dreamy with the homey . . . A gentle early treatment of holiday gatherings.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Minimal text treats a compact blue table as the center of a holiday as a family gathers . . . Raschka’s fluid watercolors balance the dreamy with the homey . . . A gentle early treatment of holiday gatherings.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Minimal text treats a compact blue table as the center of a holiday as a family gathers . . . Raschka’s fluid watercolors balance the dreamy with the homey . . . A gentle early treatment of holiday gatherings.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

09/01/2020

PreS-K—A blue table is the focal point of this brightly colored picture book that takes the food icons of Thanksgiving—pie, turkey, potatoes, corn—and transcends them for a simple story of gathering and gratitude. First one family comes together, planning and organizing, and then a second family joins in to share a lovely meal. The simplicity is deliberate; there is no dialogue, only two dozen words, and there are no faces of the people planning or participating in the meal. Only the hands of the people are shown, allowing readers to see that the characters are of different races. The bright watercolor pictures will offer opportunities to engage young readers in discussions about what the pictures mean and what they might enjoy for a shared meal. VERDICT A pleasant story, with an indelible blue table as its hearth, and most collections will want to add it to their shelves.—Debbie Tanner, S D Spady Montessori Elem., FL

School Library Journal

★ 2020-07-01
A blue table symbolizes and facilitates the connections among family members and between friends.

Raschka creates his narrative in two straightforward sentences. His paintings reflect the action and objects described while adding nuance and detail. The story, like most days, begins with breakfast. Food, drinks, and other objects stand in for the characters. “A child” is represented by a glass of milk. Two parents drink from a teacup and a mug; a plate of pastries is shared. A newspaper, book, crayons, paper, scissors, and a flower in a vase spread across the comfortably crowded table before it is cleared so that the family can “get going.” Next, the table fills right back up again. Food from the garden, store, and farm are piled high. An apple pie is constructed in preparation for a celebratory meal shared with another family of three. The aerial, foreshortened perspective throughout and numerous items on some pages may give the impression that the jumble of objects is random. Close examination, however, is richly repaid, with the disappearance of food and drink indicating the passage of time and the use of the child’s crayon drawings as place cards tying the two meals together. Shown only from the elbows down, the six diners include two with brown skin and four whose skin tone varies from pink to amber. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.5-by-23-inch double-page spreads viewed at 100% of actual size.)

A charming and cozy celebration of the places and routines that anchor and connect us. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews