All Falling Down

by Gene Zion, Margaret Bloy Graham (Illustrator)

Leaves, snow, night, and everything else is falling down except Jimmy, whose Daddy catches him

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

28 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Born on October 5, in 1913, Gene Zion attended the New School of Social Research and the Pratt Institute. In 1948, he married artist Margaret Bloy Graham, who then collaborated with him on all his picture books. When their marriage ended in 1968, Zion also ended his career as an author. Zion is best known for his creation of the rascally dog, Harry, who appears in such books as HARRY THE DIRTY DOG and HARRY BY THE SEA. He died in 1975.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this lovely beginning book for young children. I think the delicate drawings are marvelous. It’s a cute idea. It is almost like poetry. There is a line or two per page about something that falls down like night falling, snow falling, rain falling. It’s very clever and the artwork feels so delicate and precious. For some reason, I have fallen for this story. I think it’s the purity of the story and the simplicity of the story. Each page uses different colors as a theme. It’s really interesting.

The kids were indifferent to the story. The niece thought it was for babies and she also liked the artwork. The nephew was bored to tears. She gave it 3 stars and he gave it 2 stars. I love it so much. So, I’m giving it 4 stars.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anodyne text and pleasing pictures.

[Kayla Zabcia]

When people whine and bitch about "children's books these days just aren't as good as they used to be" I'll point them to this one from 1951, with its mediocre art and even more mediocre story.

While I agree many children's books are excessively oversimplified, both artistically and narratively, I don't believe it's so much a modern day issue, so much as the fact that there are a shitton more options than there used to be, and not every book is a winner.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww, very sweet!

Captions of little moments when various things fall: rain, snow, shadows, night. So simple, yet so sweet. Loved it!

I’m telling you, Zion and Graham are a duo you can’t miss!

Ages: 2 - 5

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me a lot of All the World, which is easily my favorite picture book published since I was a child. The story is all about the concept of things falling down, but like All the World, it includes a lot of images of kids enjoying nature and engaging in activities not explicitly stated by the text. The illustrations lack any sort of ethnic or racial diversity, which is somewhat disappointing, but the figures have very sweet faces and the whole book has sort of a comforting feeling, especially in the end when the child’s Daddy doesn’t let him fall down. My two favorite images are the one on the beach, with the little girl standing with her hands on her hips in her polka dotted bathing suit, and the one where the kids stand out on the balcony in their pajamas looking up at the stars.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

All falling asleep.

Pretty boring book. The pictures are very quaintly 1950s. A man walking a dachshund, wearing a plaid jacket, with a cigar between his two fingers makes me think of Disney cartoons from that era. Everything just looks precious.

It's basically a long prose poem with a sentence or two on each page about various things that fall, most of which are natural like rain and shadows. There's really not much to it, just a list of things that fall. The premise itself isn't very interesting. It's not bad, it's just dated.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[SamZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor: 1952. Favorite illustration: the children playing in the park.
Several things fall in life: leaves, water, apples, snow, and stars, to name a few.
This is a gentle flowing, sweet little story about the world around us, especially from the point of view of a young child. The illustrations are adorable and match the text beautifully. I definitely enjoyed this better than the 1952 winner and would have chosen this for the award.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

• 1952 Caldecott Honor Book •

Quiet book with poetic-like text and great illustrations. This is all about things that fall down like rain, snow and leaves. I think this would have been my pick for the Caldecott Winner in ’52.

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

No story, merely a soothing iteration of things that fall.

Pleasant, but I prefer doggy difficulties.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations feel a bit dated, but the downward movement throughout the story is a very inventive approach to the yearly cycle, turned on its head by the upward exuberance of a father's love for his son.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank goodness for a short book on #nerdcott list. After all the lengthy books of the 30's and 40's, it was nice to have a 5 minute read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

1952 Caldecott Honor

[Laura5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Video blog post:
http://liblaura5.blogspot.com/2012/05...

[Brindi Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

1952 Caldecott Honor

I'd still read this today...

[Robert Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** Caldecott Honor (1952) ****

Gentle scenes of objects falling, snow, sand castles, flower petals, shadows and stars. Very pleasant.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow soon.

[Seema Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book holds up so well (1952 Caldecott Honor), perhaps b/c gravity still works the same way. This book shows all the things that fall down.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, incorporating many things that fall. Beautiful illustrations.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book poem about various things that fall down i.e. leaves from trees, petals from flowers, snow from the sky, etc. It is a rather forgettable story, but the illustrations are beautiful with lots of detail. They are clearly from the 1950's. They very much reinforce stereotypical gender roles and, on a page depicting a scene at a park, there is a man smoking a cigar in the background. Overall, though, I like it.

[Cheryl Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gene Zion was a favorite author of my first grade classes. His most favorite character was Harry, the dog, and he wrote several books about him beginning with Harry, the Dirty Dog. This story is a departure from Harry and it's about different objects like apples and snow and how they All Fall Down.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but cute book about all the things that fall down. Caldecott Honor Book.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really not up to the quality I expect from this pair, either in the writing or in the pictures.

This is a book about things that fall down, petals, water, apples, leaves and so on.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

1952 Caldecott Honor

Favorite Line: Petals fall from the flowers gently on the table . . . gaily in the wind.

Favorite illustration: The illustration that accompanies the above line, with the living room and the cat at the french doors.

Kid-appeal today: I enjoyed this short and sweet book about all the different things that can fall down. I think preschoolers and kindergartners would still like this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author gives examples of many things in nature that fall down, like sand castles at a beach and leaves from a tree, and then what people do when those things fall down. Very cute illustrations, and I enjoyed the end with the father and the child.