Big or Little? [Paperback]

Kathy Stinson (Author), Toni Goffe (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

The return of a big favorite about being little.

When you're really young, it can be tough to figure out if you're a little kid or a big kid. So it is for one boy named Toby, who sometimes feels big, like when he pours his own milk, but sometimes feels little, like when he spills it.

Mom and Dad make Toby feel more grown up when they let him help wash the car, but when his older brother says to go away he feels little again. Sharing toys with his younger sister makes Toby feel big. What about wearing bunny-feet pajamas? That makes you little, right? Not when you're too big for them. All in all, Toby decides that he wants to be a big kid, but sometimes he likes being little too.

Still in demand after 25 years, Big or Little? is back with revised, shorter text nicely suited to little listeners, and playful new illustrations that are fun for all. Full of the everyday struggles and triumphs of growing up, this favorite story is sure to inspire readers of any size.

(20090612)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreS—Originally published 25 years ago, this title has a revised text and new illustrations. Toby, a preschooler with flyaway hair, considers the benefits and responsibilities of being big, as well as the frustrations of being small. The mishaps of spilled milk or a wet bed, for instance, are balanced by the joys of helping to wash the car and remembering to return library books. Goffe's line drawings in a pastel palette depict a traditional family of five in a messy home and give a nod to the author's Red Is Best (Annick, 2002) as Toby reads that book. Homey vignettes and errands around town show happy folks. The author and illustrator capture that uncomfortable in-between feeling. Toby rides a tricycle, is afraid of dogs, and gets lost in the grocery store. However, he can read a little, write his name, and open doors for grown-ups. Plenty of children will relate to him.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Review

(starred review) Big or Little? works, and it merits purchase by school and public libraries. That said, those libraries that already own the 1983 version should keep it on their shelves alongside the 2009 reworking. Recommended. (Dave Jenkinson Canadian Materials )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Annick Press; Revised Text and New Illustrations edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554511682
• ISBN-13: 978-1554511686
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The clue that Kathy Stinson has enjoyed a lifelong love of reading is in the wide range of books she has written. "What you read," she says, "influences what you write. And so does the day to day life that you live."

That's why Kathy's characters ride bikes along dirt paths, fall in love in summer, argue and have cozy chats with parents and friends, sometimes have trouble sleeping, and walk on beaches and city streets.

Kathy says, "It's also fun, as a writer, to imagine yourself into situations unlike your own." That's what she did when she wrote about Marie-Claire living through a smallpox epidemic in Montreal in 1885, and Mr. Elliot deciding as a grandfather that it's time he learned to read.

Kathy sorted mail, waited tables, and taught school before finally figuring out what she really wanted to do was write - everything from picture books to young adult novels, from biography to historical fiction. Readers never know what kind of book to expect from her next!

Kathy has served as Writer-in-Residence for several library systems in southern Ontario and has led writing workshops all across Canada.

Kathy is the mother of two grown children, who inspired some of her earliest books. She also has two grown stepdaughters and five grandchildren. If she's out buying them a present, chances are it's in a bookstore she'll be shopping. Of course!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Snuggle-time Read-Aloud (a review of Big or Little), September 28, 2009

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Big or Little? (Paperback)

"Big or Little?" is a book that's been around for quite awhile. In fact, it's celebrating it's 25th Anniversary, and on this occasion it's being reprinted, this time with updated artwork by Toni Goffe. [Toni's artwork is gentle and fun and has little features that make me laugh -- like the mom's car is full of the debris one accumulates as you transport kids to and fro.]

The reason "Big or Little" has stayed in print is because it manages to perfectly capture children's ambiguity about growing up. Yes, they want to be big boys and big girls, but sometimes their desires get ahead of their skills. Thus they feel BIG when they pour their own milk; but small when they spill it.

They also aren't necessarily ready to give up the comforts of 'babyhood'. They can feel BIG and self-assured one moment, like when they are holding the door for someone older, or they can feel small and powerless, like when they are lost in the grocery store. As Dr. Brazelton has said, 'sometimes it's two steps forwards, and one step back'. And this is what Kathy Stinson has caught on the pages of her book.


"Big or Little?" is a delightful book that's a great read aloud. A wonderful book to read while snuggling. I think the both younger and older children will delight in having this read to them. Younger children will see themselves and understand 'the struggle'. Older children will smile to remember how 'it was back in the old days'.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews