by Sam Juliano
Come Saturday morning
I’m goin’ away with my friend
Well Saturday-spend ’til the end of the day-ay
Just I and my friend
We’ll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles
And then we’ll move on -The Sandpipers, 1969
Picture book wunderkind Oge Mora, a master of collage and familial immersion, won a Caldecott Honor last year for her maiden work Thank You Omu!, a stirring tribute to her beloved Grandmother. Omu, a miracle of acrylic collage, china markers, pastels, patterned paper and old book clippings is a story of magnanimity, gratefulness and the adage that in the end one will be treated as they treat others. To be sure the book is a study of sacrifice and how the most noble in our ranks will think of themselves only after they’ve thought of everyone around them. Mora has followed her magnificent debut with another exploration of the family, again with an acute focus on a special relationship and again using the same style and materials that made the first book so resplendent. Disavowing the common conviction of the week’s sixth day, Mora paints a picture of plans gone awry on the one day when mutual freedom should set the stage for blissful negotiation to complete appointments and unique entertainment. In the end of course bad luck does nothing to impact the only things that really matters: synergy and love.
End papers sporting varying shades of violet showcase a monthly calendar featured X’d off dates, with only Saturday the 30th left to be completed. Big bright stars connote planned activities for for the titular weekend day, and the planned content is auspicious as is the wish list printed by a youngster. A busy double page title spread launches Saturday’s story arc, with a young girl rising from bed as her mother greets a new day with coffee. Plenty of collage cut outs signify familial bliss, one where positive energy greatly outweighs economic limitations. This basic premise is accentuated by the revelation that Ava’s hard-working mom even works on Sunday in a six-day schedule. Only Saturday, the reprieve so many baby boomers relied on for early morning television, trips to the local library, outdoor basketball and baseball games and for some the certainty they’d sleep way past their normal wake-up time. In a quartet of paper cut vignettes, Mora depicts a diverse itinerary, involving story-time at the library, a trip to the beauty salon, outdoor quality time at the local park, and as a special finale for this particular penultimate day of the week. Mora the illustrator frames the happy anticipation in bumblebee yellow which allows the collages to jump off the page in three-dimensional sublimity. Mora the author encapsulates the cheery expectations with a circular frenzy of Mom and and daughter in preparatory mode.
After their exit is announced with Zoom! they head up the street to the library which is framed in vivid shapes and newspaper clippings. But much like movie patrons arriving at a theater for a popular movie only to get turned down because of a sell-out, Ava and her mom are chagrined to learn (via a sign at the front desk) that the story time session is cancelled. Though there is reassuring guarantee of sorts that the following week won’t disappoint, the two don’t find that to be any kind of consolation: They paused, closed their eyes, and–whew!–let out a deep breath. Ava’s mother downplays the story time rebuff, and notes that Saturday will always be far more than the sum of its parts. Again the undaunted refrain: Today will be special. Today will be splendid. Today is Saturday!
The second stage of their Saturday program at the salon in a cubicle titled “Sisters” was a resounding success, but as if fate were in charge of this day a car whooshes by splashing water on them consummately, leaving their painstaking hairdos trashed. Mora’s double page tapestry invokes a hopeless scenario in oceanic terms, but on the following page the indomitable duo are again guided by the mom’s proclamation that there isn’t a thing in the world that compromise the sacred kinship they share on this special day. They zoom off to the park to absorb some peace and quiet but in a hectic scene that might induce adult readers to sing:
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park,
I think it was the Fourth of July
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Everybody is another
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For Saturday.
Note: This is the fourth entry in the 2019 Caldecott Medal Contender series. The annual venture does not purport to predict what the committee will choose, rather it attempts to gauge what the writer feels should be in the running. In most instances the books that are featured in the series have been touted as contenders in various online round-ups at children’s book sites, but for the ones that are not, the inclusions are a humble plea to the committee for consideration. It is anticipated the series will include in the neighborhood of around 15 to 20 titles; the order which they are being presented in is arbitrary, as every book in this series is a contender. Some of my top favorites of the lot will be done near the end. The awards will be announced in January, hence the reviews will continue until the early part of that month.
Love your use of song lyrics! I’ve seen this book and agree it is one of the year’s most beautiful crafted. I thought Thank You Omu! was great too. Superb and entertaining review. I plan to order a copy.
Thanks you so much Ricky! Of course I fully agree on THANK YOU OMU! Nice to hear you will be acquiring SATURDAY!
What a beautifully illustrated book. Looking at the pix as I read your excellent account of the book, I was startled to realize that the illustration style resembles one of those that was fashionable (at least in the UK) when I was a nipper myself. (Go easy on the “Altamira” jokes, eh, Sam?)
Goes around, comes around, sorta thing.
John I have corrected that innocuous typo. LOL on the Atamira jokes! But yes, what goes around comes around for sure. Thank you so much for the exceedingly kind words. The illustrations are uniformly sublime as is the splendid color scheme. A real keeper of a picture book by a very talented young lady!
Though only just released it is very popular in the library reading circles. This is no surprise considering how beloved “Thank You Omu!” was and is with the lower graders. The author-artist has quite a career ahead of her. To start off with books of such excellence is rare. Sam, this is a brilliant reviews that really captures the spirit and resplendence of this wonderful foray into family love.
Great to hear that Celeste! I was hoping to hear from a librarian on the book’s early stage popularity. Thanks for the overly generous words my friend!
Sam, I don’t know how you do it. With all the obstacles you’ve had to face you still manage to keep the creative forces going.
I applaud this season’s Caldecott Medal Contender series and this choice is exceptional. I too am amazed at such mature work for a newbie who has demonstrated remarkable talent. Thank You Omu was in my top 3 last year and I think Saturday will end up the same. What a marvelous read from first word to last. You really nailed it.
Well, Tim it has been challenging I will say that, but thank you so much and great seeing you on the boards again! Can’t argue with those placements at all my friend!
Saturday is a terrific picture book! Awesome review!
Thanks so much Karen! Deeply appreciated!
Another tour de force review in your Caldecott series! This talented your artist really demonstrates an emotional connection with her material, and the collages are sublime. I agree with you on the dust jack cover, which is one of the loveliest I’ve seen.
As always you are greatly generous with your assessment Frank. Yes that cover is truly magnificent. Thank you my friend!
A perfect embodiment of togetherness trumping (oh that word!) recreation. Young Ms. Mora is on a roll, and this masterful review illustrates why. Her collage work is untouchable.
Aye Peter, I totally agree, thank you so much for the kind words my friend!
Cities have so many fun places that we tend to become productions-driven. In the course of getting down to those thrills, we can become lost to bigger moments. This low-key gem, with much lovely grunge, steadies the rush due to their own beauties.Your review is excellent Sam!
Again you frame the subject brilliantly my friend! Yes a very low-key investigation but of course as soulful as they come and extraordinary beautiful. Love your perspective here and thanks a ton my friend!
I met Oge at a Kidlit Con in Providence this spring: she deserves all of these kind words! Can’t wait to add Saturday to my collection. Thanks, Sam!
Jamie, thank you so much!! We also met her on one occasion and ironically she was at Manhattan’s Books of Wonder again today but we couldn’t make it. Lovely girl and so so so talented! I agree with you my friend!