Black and White

Black and White
David Macaulay

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre: Picture Book/Caldecott Award

Macaulay posts a warning on the title page of the book which advises the reader to pay careful attention to the words and illustrations, as they may indicate the events in the book take place at different times...or do they? In his book, four stories are told simultaneously; one about a child returning on a train to his parents, the second about a group of people on a platform awaiting a late train, the third about two children and their parents who come home acting slightly strange, and the fourth about Holstein cows, who if escape, are nearly impossible to find!

Black and White was a fun read for me mostly because of the dream-like and puzzling illustrations. I enjoy being able to go back to the book and find something new every time. On the most basic level, it tells four fun and interesting stories that would interest younger readers (2nd - 5th), while it's unique format and story-telling style can be used for middle school students in studying and analyzing the craft of writing - studying the way words and illustrations affect the ultimate meaning of a text.