Zero Local, by Ethan Murrow and Vita Murrow, (Apr. 2020, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780763697471
Ages 4-8
An above-ground train kicks off the week with delays, and tensions run high, but one passenger embraces the extra time and thoughtfully creates a thank-you drawing for the conductor. A young girl notices the act of kindness and decides that gratitude is the way to go; for the rest of the week, as moments of stress and tension creep back into the daily commute,
Zero Local shows the power of kindness and the beauty of paying it forward. Mostly wordless – the only text here exists to let readers know the day of the week and the train’s schedule status – the artwork does all the talking. Vita and Ethan Murrow capture the tension and stress of the daily commute while illustrating the power of art and empathy. Graphite illustrations derived from photos give a gritty realness to the urban commuters and bursts of yellow give us sunshine for those small, bright moments when kindness prevails. A nice addition to wordless picture books, and hopefully, an inspiration for understanding. Read and display with Melanie Hope Greenberg’s Down in the Subway, another book where a crowded, hot day on the subway turns into something magical.
Mom Read It 