Auction Book

Tres Seymour's lively story is humorously brought to life by Cat Bowman Smith's down-home illustrations.

"Whee-oo!" When Aunt Lou hears there's a county auction coming up, she can't contain her excitement (as her young niece observes). But when she and the family arrive at the auction site, Aunt Lou comes face to face with her long-standing rival, Miss Logsdon. One look makes clear that these ladies can't stand to lose to each other, even when bidding on such dubious treasures as old china, a stuffed groundhog, or a zinc tub. Aunt Lou's niece has her eye on a straw hat — the spitting image of Daddy's — which fits her better than her own hair. But can anyone outbid Aunt Lou and Miss Logsdon when they get going?

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz - Children's Literature

Our young narrator shares the excitement of a county auction with us. She and her whole family arrive to see her Aunt Lou and her teacher Miss Logsdon confront each other. Since nobody seems to be able to outbid them, some folks go on home. The bidding is a wild match between them. Meanwhile our apprehensive narrator has her eye on a special straw hat, and only a dollar in her pocket. The two women get going on that hat. They reach ninety-five cents, when she bravely shouts "A dollar bill!" Nobody has ever tried to outbid the pair before. Amid shocked silence, she gets her hat, to the delight of her family and herself. On the jacket/cover Smith provides a preview of the happy departing shoppers in their overloaded vehicles, conveying the spirit of the event while presenting the characters. Brown ink and watercolors produce double-page scenes rich with details of the family home and, it seems, of every object up for auction. Boldface type is used effectively for the voices of auctioneer and bidders. Exaggerated gestures and expressions amuse as they convey the spirit of the auction. 2005, Candlewick Press, Ages 6 to 9.