Sunday Week

by Dinah Johnson, Tyrone Geter (Illustrator)

With charm and grace, this celebratory picture book takes young readers through the daily chores and activities of each weekday--from hanging out the wash to jumping Double Dutch--all in anticipation of Sunday. Once this special day finally arrives, it is filled with prayer, song and dance, savory food, storytelling, country drives, and most of all, family warmth and cheer.

Dinah Johnson's vibrant, engaging language and Tyrone Geter's handsome illustrations joyfully embrace the faith and spirituality within an African-American community and beyond.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 1999

About the author

Dinah Johnson is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Black Magic, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie; Hair Dance! with photographs by Kelly Johnson; Quinnie Blue, illustrated by James Ransome; Sunday Week, illustrated by Tyrone Geter; and All Around Town: The Photographs of Richard Samuel Roberts. A professor of English at the University of South Carolina, she lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

Reviews

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daily chores and a sense of community -- both (or either) of these two strengths can bring a child more stability.

Unlike bygone days, seems to me, those of us who live now have considerable freedom. We can create our own social anchors. Doing so would be wise, setting in motion a beautiful structure and pattern to enrich our days.

Yet this is the very first picture book I have come across to bring up these potential sources of stability-- in my experience, both, as a young reader, or decades later as a mother of a young reader, or decades later still, as a book reviewer here at Goodreads.

May this book bring comfort, and a sense of belonging, to today's restless readers.

Thanks for the concept and words, Dinah Johnson.

Thanks, Tyrone Geter, for the powerful illustrations, so alive they're nearly breathing.

FIVE STARS!

[Brittany White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I related to this book very well... the people in the book are part of a small community who attend the same church. The voice of the narrator is a small girl who explains the daily chores of everyone leading up to Sunday, which is church day. In my case, this book provided a text-to-self connection.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book, though it certainly had a strong slant towards a religious culture. If that bothers you, this book might not be right for you though. It didn't bother me. Dinah Johnson has a strong grasp of literary devices and her strength is truly in her vivid descriptions.