My Fourth of July encapsulates what the day is like to a child

I teach ESL online and some of the lessons I teach are about holidays. My Fourth of July is an illustrated book by Newbery Medal Winner, Jerry Spinelli with illustrations by Larry Day. Trying to explain to an overseas student via an online class just what The Fourth of July is all about can be challenging. Yeah, it’s about parties, food, fireworks and family, but in the eyes of a seven year-old it’s so much more. The magic of My Fourth of July is that it captures the manic energy, expectations and variety that exemplify the Fourth of July as it’s experienced through the eyes of an elementary school aged child.

The pacing of the book and the layout of the drawings is a huge reason why the book makes such a great read for this age. When the book starts the illustrations are corner to corner color, with the town having their parade and getting ready for the day. After that, things calm down and the colors focus on our main character, a 7 year-old boy who is getting ready for the day with his family.  The pictures have him as the focal point of each page, with lots of white space on the pages. This effect helps establish the low key morning that any family experiences during the morning.

As late afternoon rolls around the pages are swallowed up by more colors and action. The masses gather at the baseball field for cookouts and shows until the child eventually starts to get sleepy. Hang in there, because the fireworks are bound to start any second.  The art will remind parents of Norman Rockwell, yet this display of the Fourth of July happens in modern times. When in doubt, look for the adults on their cell phones, they can be seen in the book on a page or two.

My Fourth of July has a classic feel about it because the happenings and activities that small communities do on this day are still relatively the same. There’s a parade in the morning, activities at various places and fireworks someplace at night. As a book, elementary school readers will enjoy it because they’ll be able to relate to something on every page. If they like the face painter then they’ll have a fond memory of that on one page. The local bands is shown, the classic wagon that kids will be pulled in also has several pages devoted to it.

The text in My Fourth of July is such that third graders and up will be able to fluently read it. Those readers who are younger will know all of the sight words, learn a couple new phrases and remember last year’s Fourth when they did something similar to what happened in the book.  My Fourth of July retails for $18.99 and is Neal Porter Books and Holiday House Publishing, Inc.