Reviews for On the Town: A Community Adventure

The average rating for On the Town: A Community Adventure based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-07 00:00:00 Lynne Villalba Author/illustrator Judith Caseley delivers another 'slice of life' story here, but rather than it being a story of a child's school life, or a family's home life, it is the life of a community that she explores. When Charlie is given a homework assignment to visit the places in his community and record what he finds, he and his mother take a walk around town, observing all the different places and workers that together make up their world. From librarians to police officers, firemen to diner waitresses, everyone has a role to play... I really appreciated On the Town: A Community Adventure, even though there was nothing about it, from a textual or artistic standpoint, that particularly stood out to me. It offers a comforting and affirming vision of what community is, and shows that while everybody has a different job to do, together they all benefit from the efforts of other individuals, and of the whole. I particularly liked that Charlie himself, when he finds a lost wallet, does the honest and civic-minded thing, in turning it in to the police, as this shows young readers that they too have a part to play, in the wider community. Given the unrest here in the states right now, and the way in which violence is being condoned by many in the media and in positions of political power, it is easy to get discouraged, and to think our culture is being irretrievably damaged. Now more than ever, we need the vision of community put forward here, in which every person has a contribution to make to the welfare of the whole. Now more than ever, we need to be asking if our actions are contributing to that welfare, or harming it. I'd recommend this book to parents and educators looking to have healthy conversations with their children about the issue of community, civic-mindedness, and playing our part.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-05-16 00:00:00 Debbie Frederick A teacher issues a challenge to students to explore their communities, and a student and his mom walk around town as the boy records what he sees in his notebook. Aptly describes the makeup of a community for young readers, but the story is not at all compelling.