.jpg)
A slightly overgrown suburban backyard with inflatable pool, sandbox, and compost heap begins the story. A red-headed white child opens the story by observing bugs moving through the clover and dandelions in the tall grass, then an array of children with different skin colors, some with glasses, explore their own yards. Ant heaps become cities, an apartment balcony a jungle, asphalt an art gallery, and a community garden a farm. Lying in the park near a city children imagine cloud pictures in the sky and the story ends with a brown-haired white girl examining bugs in the tall grass.
Gigot's pastel-colored art is friendly and pleasant. There is imagination in the transformation of a pool into the ocean or a street hydrant into a waterfall. Most of the children are too small in the picture to really identify details, but they all appear to have very similar body types and no visible difficulties.
Like many books encouraging exploration of the outdoors this book is more in the realm of wishful thinking than reality. The kids are shown with plenty of time to quietly observe nature, including lying on grass that includes clover and dandelions or lying out on the grass in a park. There are no screens pictured and the few adults who are shown are leisurely reading, hanging up clothes, or just hanging out with the kids.
Verdict: I would pair this with Henry Cole's On Meadowview Street and hope that it encourages kids to carve out a little time to look at the world around them - and for adults to allow that (and also, especially in the suburbs, for people to maybe leave a few things to BE observed, instead of killing every non-grass plant and visible insect). This will make a good addition to our outdoor storytimes that end with expeditions into the library garden space.
ISBN: 9781665935128; Published May 2024 by Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library
No comments:
Post a Comment