All in a Day

Beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing to 6 a.m. the following morning, this neatly planned, interactive story tracks the movements of a city building’s inhabitants throughout the course of a single day. Looking through the windows of one three-story building with a large clock on its face, Takeuchi (Can You Find My Robot’s Arm?) depicts the activities of its toy-like, dot-eyed inhabitants, portrayed with various skin tones. A bakery and a barber occupy the gabled building’s street level; a clockmaker, a family, and a grandmother live in apartments above them; and an artist and a musician occupy the top floor. Each space contains furniture, pets, tools, and more. “Rise and shine,” play-by-play text begins. “The baker has already been up for several hours baking fresh bread for the day. Grandma is having breakfast with her friends.” Most pages conclude with a question, and enlarged vignettes on the recto reward careful inspection (Grandma’s “friends” are numerous cats, plus a color-changing chameleon). Conversational, cheerful prose recalls that of Richard Scarry in its attention to life’s small dramas (“The ice-cream truck is here./ Who wants ice-cream?”). As new things happen and scenes change, there’s always something else to see in this cozy chronicle, which asks questions, teaches time-telling, and gently nudges viewers to closely observe the world around them. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)