Amber Waiting

* Gregory, Nan. Amber Waiting. Illus. Kady MacDonald Denton. Calgary, AB: Red Deer Press, 2002.
Amber loves many things about kindergarten - swinging, painting, listening to stories. What she doesn't like is waiting, long after everyone else has left, for her dad to pick her up. She imagines a scenario that will teach her dad, once and for all, just what it feels like to wait and wait and wonder if someone's forgotten you. Nan Gregory's strong sense of voice and character brings the text to life right from the opening line, making it easy to identify with the narrator. The stylized cartoon-like paintings are expressive but also straightforaward enough to be consistant with the appeal of recognizability of a day-in-the-life kindergarten story. The illustrations also help delineate the imagination-based storyline from the real, with figures in the imaginative sequences cut-out and collaged on a painted background, giving them a floating, slightly ethereal aesthetic which mimics the ability of the mind to imagine the everyday figure of life in new situations. There is a wonderful balance between the text and illustrations, both of which bring a strong sense of individuality and spunkiness to the story.