Only One Neighborhood

by Marc Harshman, Barbara Garrison

One bakery has many different breads; in one school there are many children. This unique book uses a busy city neighborhood to teach the concept of one versus many. The same author-and-artist team that created the evergreen title Only One takes children on a tour of shops, the firehouse, and more via a simple, soothing text and extraordinary woodblock illustrations. At the book’s end, readers see how many neighborhoods can come together to make one city, showing how each one of us is part of something bigger.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mathematics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2007

About the author

Marc Harshman is the poet laureate of West Virginia, appointed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in May 2012. His poems have appeared in such publications as Shenandoah, The Georgia Review, The Progressive, Appalachian Heritage, Bateau, and Fourteen Hills. Other poems have been anthologized by Kent State University, the University of Iowa, University of Georgia, and the University of Arizona.

His eleven children's books include ONLY ONE, a Reading Rainbow review title on PBS TV and THE STORM, a Junior Library Guild selection and Smithsonian Notable Book Parent's Choice Award recipient. Booklist has called this same title "a knowing book that will speak to all children about self-image and hard-won success."

Mr. Harshman was honored in 1994 by receiving the Ezra Jack Keats/ Kerlan Collection Fellowship from the University of Minnesota for research of Scandinavian myth and folklore. He was also named the West Virginia State English Teacher of the Year by the West Virginia English Language Arts Council in 1995. More recently, he was named the recipient of the WV Arts Commission Fellowship in Poetry for the year 2000 and the Fellowship in Children's Literature for 2008. His children's titles have been published in Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Danish, and Swedish.

Marc is fondly known by many as a storyteller who served for over twenty years as a judge for the WV Liar's Contest held at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston, WV. He has also served as an instructor for the historic Appalachian Writer's Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, KY.

Marc holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Pittsburgh. He recently received an honorary doctorate from Bethany College in recognition of his life's work.

In honor of West Virginia's Sesquicentennial, Marc was commissioned by the Wheeling National Heritage Area to write a poem celebrating this event. This poem, "A Song for West Virginia," was presented in both Charleston and Wheeling as part of the day-long festivities held that day.

Reviews

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a bit repetitive with the wording but has a nice sentiment throughout the story. Nothing too wow worthy but super young kids like toddlers to those in kindergarten will like it. Anyone older may not like it so much. You may have to explain what a delicatessen is so be prepared to make that a teachable moment.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive but has a nice sentiment. Has only a few words per page, which is perfect for my 20 month old.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pairs one with many throughout a city neighborhood, but not always in natural ways. It's not things that compose other things like in Only One. (Example of this not being a composed-of relation: one toy store, many toys.)

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure what to say.
Talks about different parts of a city neighborhood.
Starts with one bakery with many kinds of bread in it and continues with the one/many situations like that.

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very simple and repetitive, but my daughter loved looking at the illustrations. She also picked up new vocabulary:

Hardware Store
Delicatessen

[Tamsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an excellent anticipatory text, beautiful illustrations, a seasonal component, and a good message. It begins, "There may be only one neighborhood, but there is so much in it. There may be only one bakery, but there are many kinds of bread. There may be only one pet store, but there are many animals..." It continues around the block, concluding with a school. Then it took a somewhat unpredictable turn: "In one city, there are many neighborhoods. In one country, there are many cities. In one world, there are many countries. But there is only one wish: PEACE."

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be great for teachers doing units about neighborhoods, and for just plain reading together. But I am not rating this as highly because I don't care for the artwork. It may be by a "prizewinning artist" but the scratchy, blurry style she uses here doesn't really encourage children to pour over the "many" objects in each picture.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book! A great to one to get children thinking about their community environment and understand the concept of elementary geography. I have only one comment, there should be a page that shows and reads - "There may be only one library, but there are many books." the illustrations are nice with a chalky/crayony effect.

[Jessica Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is simple however it highlights a great variety in many common places that children are familiar with. The overall theme to this book is peace and diversity. The quality of the pictures is warm and inviting which makes this a good choice for independent reading along with the ease of the text; most 5 year old children would be able to read or at least pretend read this book.