From Ed's to Ned's by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

  I was disappointed by the collaboration between these two creators. Sterer's Not my nest and Cummins' Hungry Lion were both hilarious, fresh, and unique. This later effort does not live up to their earlier work though.

The title page shows twin, white girls, receiving a call on a tin-can phone while watching an old-fashioned television. The next page shrinks the figures down to doll-size and they travel to their neighbor's house - by climbing a clothesline. The theme continues as an increasing number of tiny children trampoline, slide, swing, float, and dig their way from home to home. The houses range from brownstones and suburban dwellings to dragon-infested castles. Once they all arrive on an apartment rooftop, they briefly zip back into focus, in company with a plethora of cardboard boxes and other materials, then are off to bed. But there's one more place for them to sneak out and visit that night, via a "Launch to Lou's!"

The pictures are not unattractive, although the tiny figures make it difficult to see whether or not this is a really diverse group. There's a wide range of houses, both realistic and fantastical, but excepting a few brick apartment buildings, most appear to be single-family, suburban homes and brownstones in excellent repair. The brief close-up of the whole "gang" shows 22 children, 7 with brown skin and dark hair, 7 that appear to be female based on hair style and length. Kids have complained to me before about weird names in books and these are so old-fashioned and primarily male that I have to say they have a point. These are the name's included: "Cal, Will, Ted, Jill, Trey, Sam, Paul, Pam, Fran, Duke, Beth, Luke, Jin, Dan, Steve, Stan, Zev, Fred, Ed, Ned." As you can see, all but one are traditional Western names, many are old-fashioned, and the four girls' names are old-fashioned.

There's nothing specifically wrong with the book, it just feels very old-fashioned and nostalgic and there isn't really anything there to hook the reader or listener. There's no plot, which isn't something I expect in picture books aimed at much younger listeners, but the art doesn't work well for very young children with the tiny, indistinct details.

Verdict: An additional purchase, for me it didn't click and I can't see an audience for it at my library.

ISBN: 9780525648062; Published 2020 by Alfred Knopf; Borrowed from another library in my consortium