From School Library Journal
PreSchool-A toddler glimpses "the eyes of cars," lots of shoes, people's faces-or maybe a dog's face-on a beautiful fall day. She tries to untie a shoe and grab a tissue from someone's bag. She gets out of her stroller and jumps, runs, and feeds the ducks; gets back in her stroller; stops at the store; and returns home, eyes closed. The brief, lyrical phrases, perfectly paired with realistic pen-and-watercolor illustrations set on a white expanse, give a toddler's view of the world-the humor, delight, and exuberance of life. This is sheer pleasure for storytimes or sharing at home.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
PreS. The poet and the artist who created
Sitti's Secrets (1994) team up again to tell a beautiful story from a small child's viewpoint. This time it's a toddler out for a walk in a stroller who is speaking, and Carpenter's clear, double-page spreads in watercolor and black pen capture the small child's exuberant perspective from down low on the sidewalk. Shoes and wheels flash by, dogs approach, pigeons poke their beaks into the mess of a dropped hot dog, and grown-ups are giants who loom over and say, "Cute!" The sounds and rhythms of Nye's words express the toddler's physical experience: seeing traffic ("the eyes of cars . . . the red lights on their behinds"); feeling the bumpy edge of the curb; hearing the big noises and also the "crunchy sound" of the stroller's wheels on autumn leaves. Then comes the joy of climbing out to push the stroller, jumping down steps, and running free, knowing that always "Mama catches me." Children will have no trouble recognizing that this story is about them.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
