Nonfiction Monday: Celebrate Hanukkah

Celebrate Hanukkah by Deborah Heiligman. National Geographic, 2008 (1-4263-0293-0) $6.95 pb

Aside from a short mention of how astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman spun the dreidel in zero gravity -- "it spins forever!" -- the most notable feature of this nonfiction book is the color photographs, which show Jewish children and Hanukkah celebrations all over the world. How fascinating to see Jews celebrating in India, Uganda and Rome. The text is simple and a little dull; surprisingly, the most interesting sections are in the collected information at the end, which includes a map of where the photos were taken, a glossary of terms, insights into the holiday from a Rabbi, a bibliography for further reading and a photo of Hoffman with his space traveling dreidel. A good basic introduction. (3-6)


(© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if books are purchased from Powells Boks via this site.

review: Moon Over the Mountain

Moon Over the Mountain/Luna Sobre La Montana by Keith Polette. Illustrated by Michael Kress-Russick. Raven Tree, 2009 (978-1-932748-85-7) $16.95


A traditional Asian folk tale about a man who seeks greater and greater power is dressed up here with a southwestern setting, embedded Spanish, and some very eye-catching illustrations.

Agipito is a poor stonecutter who must work very hard cutting piedras. One day Agipito wishes he could be a rich merchant; the Spirit of the Desert grants his wish and he wakes up as a comerciante rico. Agipito is contento... until he notices how much stronger the sun is.

I appreciate multilingual books with embedded language and this one is well done, with the words always following an introduction of the English, for clarity. "Day after day, he cut out stones for large houses and churches. Many casas grandes and iglesias were built with these piedras. (The Spanish words are printed in red.) The book would be enjoyable just for the text, but it's the illustrations that really make it -- rich, bold, expressive depictions of Agipito as el sol, el viento and la gran montana.

I was bothered by the book's ending, which disrupts the obvious circular nature of the story for a puzzling happy ending that rings false. It's still a good choice for readers looking for this type of book.

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah

The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah by Leslie Kimmelman. Illustrated by Paul Meisel. Holiday House, 2010 (978-0-8234-1952-4) $16.95

Learning about Passover can be entertaining -- who knew? I smiled all the way through this story, in which the Little Red Hen, who sounds quite a bit like my Jewish grandmother, learns that she has to make all her matzoh preparations herself -- to say nothing of cleaning the house of bread and preparing the Seder dinner. Despite her friends' uncooperative -- even rude! -- attitude when she asks for help, at the end the Little Red Hen remembers the words of the Haggadah, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." Deciding that a good mensch forgives, she lets them join in the Seder -- but justice is satisfied, since she gives them a good scold first and makes them wash the dishes.

This reads aloud delightfully, and all the yiddishism give it even more of a lilt, as well as make it funnier. "Friends, schmends," the Little Red Hen mutters, and, "So I should starve?" The pen & ink and water color illustrations nicely capture the bustling hen's cozy home and the hangdog expressions of her friends when she scolds them. Plus, if you've ever wanted to see a horse wearing a yarmulke, here's your chance. * (3 & up)



© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy from the public library. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: Better Together

Better Together by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro. Illustrated by Dusan Petricic. Annick Press, 2011 (978-1-55451-278-2) $8.95 pb

This picture book about combining and mixing is aptly named. Most of the short verses aren't that interesting on their own, but add in the thoughtful or mischievous children in the pen & ink illustrations and they get some much needed verve. I particularly liked "Mud":

Sprayed out a rainbow,
water caused a flood.
Mixed with the dirt,
made slippery mud.

Slid in the puddle,
fell on my bum!
Got a little dirty --
don't tell mum!

The accompanying picture shows a completely mud-covered girl shushing us as she slips past her unsuspecting mother's back.

On a sweeter note, the illustration for "Team" shows three children, with their worst sports weaknesses depicted on the backs of their jerseys; when they come together as a team, we see the fronts display their greatest strengths.

Parents will most likely appreciate this book for the innovative concept and multicultural cast. (And for those who seek out depictions of biracial families or little kids using the toilet, put this on your list.) Kids may like it for the emphasis on the messy and the silly, and the heartfelt emotions we see in the pictures. (4-8)

© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea. Illustrated by Tom Slaughter. Blue Apple Books, 2011 (978-1-60905-062-7)

What a fresh, fun idea for a picture book. We know that a duckling will grow to become a duck, but can a car grow to become... a truck? How about a stool and a chair? After several suggestions, the rhyming text gives us the answers: "YES to ducks, bears and owls, NO to trucks, chairs and towels. YES to cats. YES to goats. NO to hats. NO to coats." The change in rhythm keeps the rhyme scheme from getting dull, and paper flaps to lift add anticipation to the silly suggestions.

There's all sorts of easy learning in here, about the names of baby and adult animals, and about the concept of the difference between things that grow and things that are made. Matte paintings in mainly primary colors, white and black, are an age-appropriate, non-distracting backdrop to the text. (2-5)


© 2011 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

awww!

The title of the Spanish language version of Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! just kills me:



It was incredibly cute to begin with, but now!

Poetry Friday -- review: Scarum Fair

Scarum Fair by Jessica Swaim. Illustrated by Carol Ashley. Wordsong, 2010 (978-1-59078-590-4) $17.95

Welcome NOT to Scarum Fair, where the devil's food cake is served by real devils, the Scary-Go-Round never lets you off and the Crocodile Slide will cost you an arm and a leg. This collection of verse is an entertaining parody of county fairs that will appeal to readers who enjoy puns: the sax player in the Sleeping Dead Band de-composes, competition is stiff in the coffin race, bad luck often strikes those who ride the Rattler Coaster. Dark illustrations, heavy on gruesome green, combine genuine creepiness with a touch of cute, to help keep the scariness on the silly side.

None of the poems really stood out for me, except the appealing randomness and hint of intrigue in "The Palm Reader":

"Your garden will die," Madame says with a frown,
You could have a green thumb if you'd just knuckle down."
She closes The Hand, and she gives it a squeeze.
"You owe me ten bucks and a slice of swiss cheese."

The Hand waves goodbye as it exists the booth
with a fistful of lies and a pinch of the truth.

Other than that, it's an easy read aloud with general kid appeal, though perhaps less accessible to those who aren't familiar with fairs. (6 & up)

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: What it is to be Me!

What it is to be Me!: an Asperger Kid Book by Angela Wine. Illustrated by David Crary. Fairdale Books, 2005 (1-59352-199-5) $9.95 pb

I have the same problem with this book that I have with most children's books about understanding Aspergers: it's too specific. To quote a favorite phrase, if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism--just a few added words to make it clear that some Aspies are very good with computers and some Aspies take things literally would have been great.

Other than that, this is probably the best book of its kind I've seen. The illustrations are simple but engaging, with the kind of exaggerated style my Aspie son finds very funny: Enormous ears to illustrate having "very strong senses", smiling faces on gears and computer terminals. The information is straightforward, focusing on strengths as well as challenges: "I am a friendly boy... but sometimes I stand too close." It's great to see the narrator portrayed as likable and happy, getting away from one of my least favorite stereotypes. With personal addendums to the text, this can be a good beginning for any child wanting to understand what Asperger's Syndrome is like. (3-12)

You can see the book's website here.

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts


FTC disclosure: Review copy from my son's collection, originally purchased from Amazon.com. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Review: Alien Invaders

Alien Invaders by Lynn Huggins-Cooper. Illustrated by Bonnie Leick. Raven Tree Press, 2010 (978-1-934960-83-7) $16.95

(Also available in an English/Spanish bilingual edition.)


Think that aliens are little green men? Wrong! In fact, aliens are already here, setting up camp in our gardens, spinning dangerous traps, watching us with their camera-lens eyes. There are many more of them than us, so even though his mom says "they are just bugs," the young narrator of this book decides, "I am making friends with them, just in case."

I was tickled by this imaginative view of insects, which finds mystery in the most seemingly ordinary things. The narrator's awe-filled combination of fear and fascination is reflected in the illustrations, which have an appropriately unearthly glow and use size and shape distortions to emphasize the creepy "alien-ness" of the bugs. The last page is especially funny, as the boy tries to show his friendliness by dressing up with bug-eyed googles, wings, a colander hat for feelers and flowers sticking out of his clothes.

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Starred review: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. Illustrated by James Dean. HarperCollins, 2010 (978-0-06-190622-0) $16.99

Pete the cat loves his new white shoes so much, he even sings about them: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes..." Then Pete steps into a large pile of strawberries, turning his white shoes--red! But the insouciant Pete just thinks, "everything is cool" and changes his song: "I love my red shoes, I love my red shoes..." The story ends after several colorful adventures, with the comment: "The moral of Pete's story is: no matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song... because it's all good."

A repetitive question/answer format is almost sure to grab little kids, but there's variety and humor here for older readers too. The pictures of mellow Pete have an offbeat zaniness; sometimes he's got sneakers on all four feet, sometimes he's playing guitar, sometimes he's just hanging out with a cup of coffee. Size and perspective constantly change, which adds to the visual impact--there's something very funny somehow about enormous sneakers, or sneakers on varied numbers of feet.

Although this is a book with a strong general appeal, it could also have been designed to steal its way into the hearts of parents of kids with autism. That cheerful flexibility... ah, it's like finding a golden ticket, for us.

The book includes a link to an mp3 of performer Litwin and kids reading and singing the story. This could be a boon to anyone feeling a little uncertain of their storytelling skills, since it demonstrates where to put emphasis and provides a tune for Pete's song. But it's not quite the same without Pete's little off-the cuff thoughts after each adventure: "everything is cool," "awesome," "groovy," and "rock and roll!" * (3 & up)

© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

Other blog reviews:

The Reading Tub
Brimful Curiosities -- includes a video and craft idea.

Nonfiction Monday - review: Dinosaurs?!

Dinosaurs?! written and illustrated by Lila Prap. North-South, 2010 (978-0-7358-2284-9) $16.95

I was pretty turned off by nonfiction as a kid, so this book caught my eye as something that might appeal to the sort of kid I was. Incidentally, I didn't find any other blog reviews of this book, but I did find a mention of Lila Prap's Why at A Year of Reading, accompanying this comment: "I read aloud nonfiction that doesn't look or act like nonfiction to challenge my students' thinking about genre."

Dinosaurs?! may not be as challenging as Why?, but it's not your standard nonfiction. In addition to illustrations of dinosaurs that are a bit on the goofy side, the informative text is surrounded by a group of wisecracking chickens, who mock their enormous ancestors. (Hmm, a bit reminiscent of Robie Harris' facts of life books, come to think of it.) One little just-hatching chick always has a question or comment at the end of the page, and the next page answers it: "What strange ancestors. Did any others have unusual bumps on their head?" (Turn the page.) "Some of them had bony domes on their heads! Oviraptor, or Egg Seizer had an unusually shaped crest on its and two prongs on the upper palate of its beak, which it may have used to crush the shells of mollusks."

I didn't find this as funny as I'd hoped; the best part comes at the very end, when the chickens play a game of telephone: "Our ancestors were dinosaurs! Pass it on!" "Our aunt's stores were at the shore! Splash it on!" "The apple core went through the door! Mash it long!" The smart chick comments, "And so on... This is roughly how chickens evolved from dinosaurs." Other than that, the chicken remarks aren't that interesting, and the same few pictures of them are used over and over. But the dinosaurs themselves, thickly outlined against speckled backgrounds, occasionally sporting grins, are quite appealing.

I can see this book potentially working both ways, as a way to entice a fiction lover into enjoying a few facts, or a way to entice a nonfiction lover into enjoying a little whimsy. (4-8)


© 2010 Wendy E. Betts

FTC disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher. This blog is completely independent, but I receive a small percentage if you order books from Powell's via this site.

review: Violet

Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik. Illustrated by Vanja Buleta Javanovic. Second Story Press, 2009 (978-1897187-60-9) $14.95

I couldn't get a cover illustration for Violet, but here's a book trailer that gives a sense of the illustrations. It's a very eye-catching book, with a spiky haired, elongated heroine and some seriously surreal backgrounds; the overall effect is sometimes childlike, sometimes pretty, and occasionally even a bit creepy in a rather Coraline-esque way. It sorts of makes sense when you realize that Violet is set in an alternate world, one in which people are red and blue and yellow--and in Violet's case, violet.

A simple story, Violet is about Violet's first day at a new school. She's pretty nervous about fitting in, but everything goes fine. Then when her dad comes to pick her up, a girl from her class is puzzled: "Your dad is BLUE??!" Violet's never thought about it before, but now she wonders. "Mom was red. Dad was blue. So, why wasn't she red or blue? Come to think of it, all her red friends had red parents. Her yellow friends had yellow parents. Her blue friends had blue parents. So why was she purple?"

When she gets home, Violet's mom shows her how mixing blue and red makes "a lovely purply-violet" and tells her that "people come in a whole rainbow of beautiful colors." (Only the colorful hands of the adults are shown, another piece of the overall offbeat look of the book.) And the next day, when a boy is puzzled by her red mom, she says proudly, "My mom is red, my dad is blue, and I... am Violet!"

I'm torn between thinking that Violet looks awesome, and that it's great to see a messagey sort of book with such unusual and interesting illustrations, and thinking that it's kind of an odd fit with the text, which is so matter of fact. In a way, of the two of them the book trailer is more interesting than the actual book. Which is not to say that a straightforward book on this subject isn't welcome, especially one that is not heavily didactic; I just wonder if the kind of kids who appreciate a straightforward story might also prefer more straightforward illustrations. Like Violet, I feel a little mixed.. but overall, I like the book enough to hope it finds its audience. (4-10)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

Big, Bigger, Biggest written and illustrated by Nancy Coffelt. Henry Holt, 2009 (978-0-8050-8089-6) $16.95

From its small format and laughing hippo cover, you'd expect this to be a pretty standard simple toddler book, and for the most part it is. But language lovers will find treats far beyond the usual fare, with unexpected words like "rapacious," "viscous" and "somnolent." Adults reading aloud could also dig up words to introduce like "superlatives," "synonyms," and "antonyms," if they like.

Each page features a different animal, who tells us a little about itself: "I'm slow," says the turtle. "I'm plodding. I'm languid. I'm ponderous." But the sloth is slower: "I'm poky. I'm laggard, I'm slothful." And the slug tops them all as the slowest: "I'm sluggish. I'm lethargic. I'm lackadaisical!" The topics are big/small, fast/slow, hungry, slimy and sleepy, so it's not completely symmetrical.

Illustrations are basic but animated, showing little scenes of the boldly outlined animals against colored backgrounds; the simplicity is an effective counterpoint to the complicated words. An excellent book for introducing concepts as well as stretching verbal horizons. (2-4)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

review: Chicken Little

Chicken Little written and illustrated by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley. Roaring Brook, 2009 (978-1-59643-464-6) $16.95

Multicolored, psychedelic eyes bulge, almost seeming to roll; ungainly characters practically bounce across the pages... with so much visual vitality, there's still plenty of life left in this well known story. Chicken Little, who is "not the brightest chicken in the coop," gets bonked by an acorn and immediately decides the sky is falling and he must run for his life. He runs into--literally--several other birds, all of whom get caught up in the seeming emergency, until they meet up with Foxy Loxy, who offers them a safe place to rest--inside his stomach. All ends well, if rather abruptly, when Foxy Loxy sneezes the flock out and they scurry off.

This is pretty much the standard story, with just a few sly editorial touches, like a parenthetical comment on the ridiculous names. The most significant addition to the tale is the manic action, as the brilliantly colored, colliding characters get tossed hither and yon, each with their own particular sound effect--culminating in a fold-out spread as every one of the characters gets sneezed into the air. Despite its boldness, the ending feels unfinished and it's not really helped by a little extra visual on the copyright page. Even though the illustrations are the real star here, I felt the need for a few final words to round out the narrative. (3-6)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

Other blog reviews:

Kids Lit
Muddy Puddle Musings - see the comments for a note on the book's technique by Rebecca Emberley
BooksForKidsBlog

review: Hello World

Hello World written and illustrated by Manya Stojic. Scholastic, 2002 (0-439-36202-4) OOP (scheduled to be reprinted in paperback in 2009; many used copies available online)

This picture book could hardly be simpler, yet grabbed me instantly with its potential to inspire interesting discussions about language. Aside from a short introduction, each page is just a large illustration of child's smiling face, the word "hello" in an identified non-English language, and a phonetic spelling. But the way the words are grouped makes it very easy to see intriguing similarities in spelling and/or pronunciation between different languages. Several African, Indian and Asian languages are grouped to show the complete opposite -- that their words for hello are totally disparate from each other. The historica, political and geographic reasons for all this may be too complex to share with young children, but just the idea that even people from the same country may not speak the same language is a useful one. There's an index of languages but unfortunately no information on where each one is spoken.

Fingerpaint style illustrations focus entirely on the children, each of whom is visually distinctive in some small way. I particularly like the vast variety in skin tones; no child looks exactly like another. There's no other detail, and for the most part Stojic avoided outfitting the characters in any ethnically typical (or stereotypical) ways, keeping the focus on what they have in common: their welcoming smiles. (2-4)

review: Ghosts in the House

Ghosts in the House! written and illustrated by Kazuno Kohara. Roaring Brook, 2008 (978-1-59643-427-1) $12.95

With its palette of black and orange and ghostly white, this book just calls out "Halloween," but it also has another message: Take charge of your fears. A little girl goes to live in a splendid old house at the edge of town and discovers it's HAUNTED! But no problem: the girl whips out her witch's hat, her white cat whips out a black witch-cat costume, and the two fly off on her broomstick to catch the ghosts. Soon each ghost has been washed, hung out to dry--smiling ghost faces indicate this is quite fun--and are put to use around the house, as curtains, tablecloths, and cozy throws. "And they all lived happily ever after," with the girl and cat sleeping under ghost blankets, which are also peacefully sleeping.

Flat, almost monochromatic linocuts are very striking, entirely orange and black with heavy black and orange outlines, except for the delightfully see-through white ghosts. The matter-of-fact air with which the witch girl tames the ghosts, and their simple cheerfulness, are equally appealing. (3-6)

© 2009 Wendy E. Betts

Other blog reviews:

The Planet Esme Plan

Bees Knees Reads

review: One Boy

One Boy written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Roaring Brook, 2008 (978-1-59643-274-1) $14.95

You always get something extra in a concept book by Seeger. This one is a counting book to begin with, but as the pages are turned, cut out pictures also demonstrate how words can be contained by other words: one boy is all alone, six cars turn out to be toys on the carpet. The surprises are fun--ten ants in your pants!--and there's a satisfying framing device, as all the pictures turn out to have been drawn by the one boy, who is now all done. Illustrated with bright, primary colors, this is a terrific choice to share with inquisitive toddlers, who can soak up information about words and reading without even realizing it. (2-5)

copyright 2009 Wendy E. Betts

Other Blog Reviews:

Help Readers Love Reading

Books for Kids Blog

Sam and Sam's Dad Read

Poetry Friday: "Three Little Kittens"

Three Little Kittens and Other Favorite Nursery Rhymes selected and illustrated by Tony Ross. Henry Holt, 2009 (978-8050-8885-4) $16.95

Despite a brief framing device of a grandfather reading to his granddaughter, at first glance this collection of nursery rhymes seems familiar. The rhymes are well known, and the watercolor illustrations are very much in the traditional, old-fashioned mode, with animals wearing bow ties and women in mob-caps. What sets it apart from similar books is the expressiveness of the characters, and an edginess that's not often found in books for very young children published in the United States. (This was originally published in Great Britain in 2007.)

I enjoyed the emotion that comes through in the pictures. The "rock-a-bye" baby falls into the arms of a terrified Puritan woman, while behind her a Puritan man looks on and anxiously bites his nails. Mary and her little lamb play together with warm affection. Old Mother Hubbard is visibly perturbed by the state of her cupboard, and her dog even more so--though the cat and mouse that ran off with all the bones are mighty pleased with themselves.

Some of the touches are witty, such as the dismay of the little girl who picked up sticks and laid them straight, only to have them squashed by a good fat hen. And some are unexpectedly macabre: as children play ring around the rosy, in a scene obviously inspired by the urban legend about the origins of that rhyme, the "fallen down" children look quite dead. Little Tommy Tucker is literally blue as he sings for his supper in the snow. And a boy ponders the "want of a nail" after seeing soldiers felled by arrows on a battlefield.

With large lettering, ample illustrations and lots of white space, this book is nicely designed for toddlers. Whether they should be exposed to some of the grittier elements associated with the old rhymes is really a personal choice. (1-4)

review: Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller

Do Unto Otters written and illustrated by Laurie Keller. Henry Holt, 2008 (978-8050-7996-8) $16.95

Humorous etiquette books tend to go in a nonsensically extra-prim direction, like the classic What Do You Do, Dear?, in which we learn that the polite pirate will pick up a lady's handkerchief if she drops it while walking the plank. Keller takes a different approach here, bringing her usual pun-filled wackiness to a hilarious but sincere lesson in basic good manners and considerate behavior.

Mr. Rabbit is worried about getting along with his new neighbors--"otters! I don't know anything about otters!"--until an Owl tells him about that old saying, "Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you." As Mr. Rabbit ponders about how he would like otters to treat him, the examples are exuberantly illustrated by the bug-eyed, colorful characters. "I'd like it if we could share things," shows Mr. Rabbit and an otter trading their favorite books--Harry Otter and Goldilocks and the Three Hares; enjoying their favorite activities--one is the "Otter-Totter"--and sharing their favorite treats--carrot topped pizza and a fish sundae. ("Hmmmm... maybe not the treats.")

Keller's work often has a sort of stream-of-consciousness feeling to it, as if she just decided to go with every single silly idea that popped into her head; it's so thoroughly over-the-top that somehow it works. In several running jokes, a bee demonstrates good stinging etiquette. An otter shows off his skills at saying polite words in five languages: Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Pig Latin. And anthropomorphic arrows point the way through the book while smilingly telling us "please look" and "thanks for looking" and "excuse me." (If I had to pick one image to exemplify Keller's work, it might be the burping "excuse me" arrow.)

There are plenty of good ideas here and the likability of the characters helps the message sink in. Who wouldn't want to be kind and polite to this sensitive rabbit, who hopes that the otters "won't tease me about my 'doo-dee-doo song/my extra-large swim fins/my 'bad hare days'." Or to the embarrassed otter who cringingly apologizes, "I'm sorry I used your ear as a tissue." (4-8)

Poetry Friday: Come and Play

Come and Play edited by Ayana Lowe. Photographed by various. Bloomsbury, 2008 (978-1-59990-245-6) $16.95

As a reviewer, one of the things I think about as I evaluate a book is, who is this book for? In Come and Play, I see a rare book that could almost be answered "for everybody." Generally speaking, teachers will love it, parents will love it, librarians will love it... even kids will love it.

To make this book, schoolchildren were shown photographs of children from all over the world at play: tag, sledding, dancing, chess, just jumping. They then wrote poems about the photos, creating a truly integral mix of illustrations and words, each adding so much to the other. We get to see the thoughts of an eager French baby being held at the beach:

Papa!
I want to kiss the water.
Let me go.

And a Moroccon girl leading a group of children on an obviously secret errand entices us:

They don't know we are here.
I like to play pranks.
I like to be very sly.
Follow me.

Occasionally the poems feel a little too much like mere narrative of the pictures--but then there might be a surprise twist or unexpected image, like in this poem about a little girl, seen from the back strutting down "Brixton Road:"

Skipping.
Outside, afterschoolish.
Homework?
Or a list to go to the store?
She feels famous.

Of course, we think--that's exactly how she feels!

Here's another that takes description to a different level, of two children playing on rocks near a waterfall:

Two people.
Different places.
Rocks rough and smooth.
Water fast and slow.
One calm.
One excited.
Wait, I'm coming up!
Wait, I'm coming down!

The photos are wonderful, so intriguingly diverse in the children's faces and backgrounds and clothes, yet utterly familiar in their depictions of fun and joy. And the poems only make the photographs even better. The only complaint I have is that the individual authors aren't given credit with their poems, though some are pictured in an afterword and children, presumably the authors, have autographed the end papers. Also, the explanation given for how the poems came to be written is a little ambiguous; I was left uncertain that these specific pictures were actually the ones that inspired the poems. (Although they certainly do seem to be.)

If you're looking for a book about how different children live... or a book of poetry by children... or an exciting read-aloud... or just something really fun to read... well, come and play. * (5 & up)