GOOD MORNING MAIN STREET

One mild, sunny day, a town slowly awakens.

“Empty sidewalks doze. / Tree boughs gently sway. / Main Street blinks awake, quiet, still, and gray.” Minimally detailed, purplish drawings of two-story houses with subtle facial features move across the gutter in the foreground, while in the background, yellow sunbeams shine down on trash bins with sleepy smiles. “Soft light slowly spreads, / bin by sleepy bin. / Flag scoots up the pole. / Produce van pulls in.” Bailey’s text continues its easy rhythm and rhyme, combining charming whimsy such as a lamppost standing up straight and eggs that “scramble onto plates” with realistic, everyday events including workers opening shops, cleaning clock faces, and scrubbing sewer covers. Onward to flowers that “primp and preen” (Bailey makes rich use of vocabulary) and street market tents that smile! Lee’s naïve artwork perfectly complements the verse, planting subtle smiles on all manner of things living and nonliving. Keen observers of the art will notice a ubiquitous red cat that’s finally called out in the text toward the end. A diverse human population appears throughout; a bird’s-eye view of the town square is especially noteworthy. This book is best shared in an intimate setting so readers can spend time poring over the illustrations—crucial to the appreciation of the warm, lulling words.

Sweetly affirming and quietly clever.