Roxaboxen (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) Review
I spent last weekend in Santa Fe, which reminded me so much of the beautiful Arizona desert I grew up in. This got me thinking about one of my family's favorite picture books: Roxaboxen. Roxaboxen is a celebration of the imaginary world that children often live in, and a great reminder to adults that sometimes all a child needs is the chance to play outdoors.
Roxaboxen takes place in a desert where, at first glance, the landscape appears to be quite bare. But it is not bare to the children who live there. For them, Roxaboxen is a place that through the power of make believe, turns into a magical world. As the children outline the streets with stones, the town begins to grow and grow. There's a main street, a town hall, a bakery and two ice cream parlors. ("In Roxaboxen you can eat all the ice cream you want.") The children build houses, which start off quite plain, but take on more and more rooms as time goes on. There's a jail and a cemetery in Roxaboxen, but the only grave is that of a dead lizard.
In Roxaboxen, everybody has a car; all you need is something round for a steering wheel. But you'd better watch out, because there's a speed limit for cars and if you don't mind it, you'll end up in jail. Even better, everyone has a horse. All you need for a horse is a stick and some kind of bridle. (And there's no speed limit for people on horses!)
Barbara Cooney's illustrations lend the perfect touch to Roxaboxen. She captures the essence of the desert perfectly. In particular, I love the ocotillos with the brilliant red flowers at their tips and the colorful desert sky at sunset. It whisked me right back to my own childhood in Arizona.
You can see that Roxaboxen is a "quiet book." On the one hand, there's not a lot going on, and yet there's so much going on. I love this book because it celebrates a childhood filled with play, instead of one filled with "things." My kids all loved Roxaboxen when they were younger. I think it's a book that will inspire your kids to go outside and create an imaginary world in your backyard.
Roxaboxen (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) Overview
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A hill covered with rocks and wooden boxes becomes an imaginary town for Marian, her sisters, and their friends.
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Customer Reviews
Childhood memories - candy - Texas
This was my FAVORITE book as a child. I am 25 now and it is still one of my favorites. I used to read it over and over and wish I was there with those kids, in the desert with the sparkling glass. Today, I spend most of my vacation time out in the desert and I think this book really helped shape my love for it.
Very cute story and even inspirational without being sappy.Very relatable, too.
Illustrations are really pretty and sweet.
Beautiful :) - Ulyyf - NYC
This is a pretty nostalgic book about the author's mother's childhood. She and her friends made the land behind their houses into their own play area, and spent time there, year after year, making cities and fighting "wars" and eating "ice cream".
Reading this book is really like diving right into somebody else's make-believe world. My nieces love it, but they don't get to read it too often, as it does make me cry :) Definitely check this one out.
Super Story! - Mary Jones - Stockbridge, MA USA
I love this story! And so do all the elementary school children I have read it to over the years! Roxaboxen is a town that children created during the summer months--complete with homes, stores, and a town hall. Their adventures are exciting and right-on-target for young children. A pure delight!
Mary Jones, Elementary School Librarian of 17 years
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 08, 2010 11:08:05
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