Amazon.com Review
The companion title to
Goodnight Moon creator Margaret Wise Brown's 1949 classic,
The Important Book, was published for the first time in 1999, with
wonderful illustrations by Caldecott Honor recipient Chris Raschka of
Yo! Yes? "Yo, yes!" we say. Just as Brown's first volume distills the essence of everyday entities, this splendid rhyming picture book zeroes in on the most important things about being one, two, three, four, five, and six years old.
The important thing about being Four/ is that you are bigger than you were before..../ You can blink and think/ as quick as a wink./ You can open your eyes/ to a world of surprise.
Children love the process of reaching each new year's landmark, and this whimsical equivalent of a wall-notch height chart will thoroughly delight them. It is difficult to imagine the book without Raschka's wriggling, singing, flinging babies, toddlers, and kids of all colors, exquisitely crafted with vivacious brushstrokes and vibrant watercolors. He has also cleverly woven numbers into his illustrations--a five-pointed star behind the five-year-old, a pinwheel of six circles behind the six-year-old. The splashy modern artwork rejuvenates Brown's half-a-century-old rhymes, plants them squarely in 1999, and guarantees a future classic. (Click to see a sample spread. Text copyright 1999 by Roberta Brown Rauch. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Chris Raschka. Permission of Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins Publishers.) (Baby to age 6) --Karin Snelson
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
While Brown's 1949 title, The Important Book, described the essential qualities of the familiar things in a child's world, this never-before-published companion addresses the developing characteristics of children themselves. As Brown leads readers through the ages of one to six in a series of jaunty rhymes ("The important thing about being Four/ is that you are bigger than you were before"), Raschka (Like Likes Like) emerges with a series of images whose fluid lines, simple geometric structure and concisely edited palette bring to mind the Bauhaus School. A master at conveying motion with a simple sweep of his watercolor brush, he launches a succession of sprightly imps to cavort against backdrops of mustard yellow, brick red and Prussian blue. For the progression from chubby babies ("You've found your nose/ and discovered your toes./ You've seen the moon/ and felt the sun") to agile kindergartners ("You learn how to count./ You learn how to read./ You know how to dress/ and get what you need"), Raschka assigns each age group a geometric shape: a simple circle represents age one, pairs of stacked squares indicate two, a five-pointed star signifies five and so on. All the forms blend together in visual harmony for the sweeping finale. It's a pleasure to hear the organic rhythms of Brown's prose again, and Raschka paints in boisterous surprises. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
