Bad Day at Riverbend - Hardcover

Van Allsburg, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039567347X ISBN 13: 9780395673478

Publisher: Clarion Books, 1995

Synopsis

Riverbend was a quiet little town, the kind of place where one day was just like all the rest and nothing ever happened. Occasionally the stagecoach rolled through, but it never stopped, because no one ever came to Riverbend and no one ever left. The day the stagecoach stood motionless in the center of town, Sheriff Ned Hardy knew something was terribly wrong. What was the mysterious substance on both coach and horses? It would not come off. Soon it was everywhere in the tidy little village. Something had to be done, and Sheriff Hardy aimed to do it.

About this title

About the Author:

Chris Van Allsburg is the winner of two Caldecott Medals, for Jumanji and The Polar Express, as well as the recipient of a Caldecott Honor Book for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. The author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children, he has also been awarded the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children’s literature. In 1982, Jumanji was nominated for a National Book Award and in 1996, it was made into a popular feature film. Chris Van Allsburg is a former instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Visit him at chrisvanallsburg.com. 

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3?In this fantastical Wild West story set in an actual coloring book, the "quiet little town" of Riverbend is mysteriously invaded by a slimy substance?crayon marks from a child's scribbles?that has the effect of stunning and paralyzing people and animals. Sheriff Ned Hardy and his men set out to get to the bottom of what has been terrorizing the town. In the end, they, too, are stopped in their tracks by the waxy slime as a child, armed with a full range of crayolas, is shown coloring in the last page of her "Cowboy Coloring Book." The illustrations of the town that readers see in the first pages are, appropriately, clean black-line drawings?not the rich, multidimensional illustrations usually associated with Van Allsburg's work. Like Jumanji (1981) and Ben's Dream (1982, both Houghton), this book's creative plot steps beyond the boundaries of reality, and because of its spare, coloring-book context, the artwork must also go beyond the artist's typical style. Larger collections will want to keep up with Van Allsburg's innovativeness, but this effort is pretty much a one-trick pony that most libraries can easily skip.?Christina Linz, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 039567347X
• ISBN 13: 9780395673478
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Van Allsburg Chris