Black and White

Macaulay, David. (1990). Black and White. Illus. David Macaulay. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Brief Annotation: The title page contains a warning that this book "appears to contain a number of stories that do not necessarily occur at the same time. Then again, it may contain only one story. In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended." The book is structured so that each time you turn a page, you see four distinct stories, each with a different style of art, and with different characters (or are they different characters?). One story appears to be about a boy taking a train trip, another about a child whose dull, predictable parents come home from work acting strange, another about people waiting for a delayed train at a train station, and the last is about holstein cows. The stories and images seem separate, but as the book progresses, there is more overlap between pictures and stories, so that the reader is constantly looking for clues and connections.
Genre: fiction picture book (postmodern picture book)
Grade Level: 1-6. I think that kids of different ages and reading levels will enjoy this book, which can be read and interpreted on several levels.
Readers who will like this: Readers who like making connections, readers who like mysteries, readers who like art.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4. I have already reread this book about ten times, and I get a new insight every time. Both of my children (grades 3 and 5) have also reread the book several times, and they love finding connections between the stories.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Do you know any riddles about "black and white"? (I'm thinking about "What's black and white and read all over?"). Also, what do you notice about the cover?