The Everything Book [Hardcover]

Denise Fleming (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up

ABCs, 1-2-3s, colors, shapes, nursery rhymes, finger games, and more...

The Everything Book has something for everyone!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Aptly named, The Everything Book is a hodgepodge of early learner words, numbers, poems, and concepts. But, without a doubt, the gorgeous illustrations are the real star of the show, created by Denise Fleming by pouring colored cotton fiber through hand-cut stencils. Readers and art appreciators of all ages will want to surround themselves with the delicious, ripe colors. Whether she's writing about traffic lights ("We all must obey them / Even the Queen"), a robin's nest, or the colors of fruit, Fleming imbues her subjects with vivid hues and exquisite shapes. Children will pore over the loosely organized book; the sparse structure allows readers to create their own stories, lingering over Summer, for example (with "summer" as its only text), to count the flies, spy the squirrel, and admire the pair of sunflowers.

Readers can practice the alphabet, count crocodile eggs and ladybugs, make faces, learn about shapes, and play with kitchen "toys": cups, pans, spoons, bags. Towards the end of the book, the theme becomes nighttime-sleepytime, with verses about winking blinking fireflies and bunnies and chicks getting ready for bed. Children will love the big, color-drenched pictures and simple words. Grownups will want to frame the art and hang it all over their house. Fleming's In the Small, Small Pond was a Caldecott Honor Book. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Part concept book, part word book and part nursery rhyme anthology, Fleming's (In the Small, Small Pond) vibrant picture-book hodgepodge surely lives up to its title. Exuberant spreads teeming with brightly hued animals, plants, objects and for the first time in Fleming's oeuvre a cast of children, introduce numbers, colors, the alphabet, body parts and seasons. Simple rhymes ("Cock-a-doodle-do!/ Hello! Good day!/ Good morning to you!"), most of them anonymous, are interspersed throughout, like gentle breaks between more learning-oriented pages. Fleming is at the top of her game, depicting a seemingly endless number of bold color combinations using her technique of "painting" with dyed cotton pulp and handmade stencils. Her richly textured compositions beg to be pored over and touched. Fans will delight in seeing familiar elements from many of Fleming's earlier works (In the Tall, Tall Grass; Lunch!; Count!) freshly updated here. And readers young and old will want to accept the challenge of finding the 119 ladybugs that crawl or fly across the pages of this lively outing. Ages 2-6. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805062920
• ISBN-13: 978-0805062922
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Denise Fleming won a Caldecott Honor for In the Small, Small Pond. She is the author and illustrator of eighteen picture books, including Buster.

***INTERVIEW***
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Toledo,Ohio, where I live still. I am a midwestern girl.

Q: What is your earliest memory of writing/drawing?
A: It seems like I was always writing and drawing. I wanted to share my ideas from the beginning. A bit bossy am I.

Q: What inspired you to write/illustrate your first book?
A: I started collecting picture books in art school. I was crazy about the whole picture book format. I realized, as I was sharing books with my daughter, that making books is what I needed to do.

Q: What are your hobbies and interests besides reading and books?
A: I work in clay, create art from tin cans, and make art dolls. Right now I am working on combining all three media. I also dye and paint fabric for the dolls.
Planting flowers and painting the outside of my house and studio is what I am busy doing right now.

Q: What one or two words of advice would you give for young authors/illustrators?
A: Experiment with different styles and media.

*From Macmillan's Denise Fleming page.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun and Delightful Book that Has it All!, September 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Everything Book (Hardcover)

Well, I was expecting a lot out of this book because my daughter fell in love with her other book "Lunch". This book has definately lived up to my expectations. My 2 1/2 year old just adores it! It has everything that we try to teach our young ones. From the alphabet to seasons to numbers to shapes, Fleming uses her beautiful illustrations to dazzle your eyes. Very fun and quite a long book for a picture book. I think one of my daughter's favorite things in this book is the challenge of finding the cute little ladybug(s) hidden in the illustrations. Highly recommended ~ any child will love it!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and beautiful, June 3, 2001

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Everything Book (Hardcover)

Me, I don't like this book all that much. My two-year-old, he ADORES it! Whenever he runs to get books to read, this is in the pile, and usually the first one. Though he has seen it many times, he still loves to go through the pages -- finding details we missed before, naming objects, imitating sounds.

The book begins with a rooster starting the day, followed by a hen and chicks waking up. From there you will see a baby eating with many objects (labelled) from a meal -- juice, toast, peas, egg, banana, spoon, milk, cereal. This is a typical page. To my mind not always very coherent, but colorful illustrations and lots to look at. Other pages include: Fruit Colors, Kitchen Toys, Shapes, the alphabet, counting, poems, seasons, animals, body parts, facial expressions .... basically, everything you can think of that a small child might be interested in. The book ends with the hen and chicks going to sleep.

I think there is a very good chance your child will love this book, too.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the hardcover version, November 20, 2006

By 

L. Femino "Working Mom" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Everything Book (Board book)

My son has the hardcover version of this book and he loves it. I love reading it to him before bed because it takes him through a bunch of pages and then it winds him down with some poems and more subdued pages. I purchased the board book to give as a Christmas present to my niece who is only 6 months old, but when the board book arrived I was disappointed to learn that it is missing many of the best pages from the hardcover version. I am returning it and ordering the hardcover version to give instead.