Product Description

Four stories are told simultaneously, with each double-page spread divided into quadrants. The stories do not necessarily take place at the same moment in time, but are they really one story? You'll have to read this award winner and find out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108595 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-26
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .9" h x 7.60" w x 12.38" l, .36 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Amazon.com
Black and White is an interesting title for a book that aims to prove there's no such thing as black and white. But read on and you will see that irony and playful deception are running themes in this multidimensional, nonlinear picture story, which was awarded the 1991 Caldecott Medal. In it, a normal-looking cow contains a robber literally pointing at one of the plot's various possible outcomes, which remain tentative as long as they are formulated by young readers. Seeing new angles and clues every time they open the book, these readers will probably astound adult onlookers with their excitement and ease at navigating the unknown in a literary medium akin to interactive multimedia.

From Publishers Weekly
At first glance, this is a collection of four unrelated stories, each occupying a quarter of every two-page spread, and each a slight enough tale to seem barely worth a book--a boy on a train, parents in a funny mood, a convict's escape and a late commuter train. The magic of Black and White comes not from each story, however, but from the mysterious interactions between them that creates a fifth story. Several motifs linking the tales are immediately apparent, such as trains--real and toy--and newspapers. A second or third reading reveals suggestions of the title theme: Holstein cows, prison uniform stripes. Eventually, the stories begin to merge into a surrealistic tale spanning several levels of reality, e.g.: Are characters in one story traveling on the toy train in another? Answers are never provided--this is not a mystery or puzzle book. Instead, Black and White challenges the reader to use text and pictures in unexpected ways. Although the novelty will wear off quickly for adults, no other writer for adults or children explores this unusual territory the way Macaulay does. All ages.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ingram
"WARNING: This book appears to contain a number of stories that do not necessarily occur at the same time. Then again, it may contain only one story. In any event, careful inspection of both words and pictures is recommended." So warns the cover of Macaulay's truly unique book, Black and White, a playful and inventive fantasy from the author of the bestselling The Way Things Work. A 1991 Caldecott Medal winner.