Follow the Line [Hardcover]

Laura Ljungkvist (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Follow the line on a journey from the city to the country, from the sky to the ocean, from morning till night. Laura Ljungkvist uses her trademark continuous line style to create the perfect counting book for young children. Each scene contains questions designed to get children looking, counting, and thinking. For example, in the underwater picture, children can count seashells, turtles, and the legs on an octopus. Each page is packed with colorful, artful objects and animals—and young counters can follow the line from the front cover to the back cover, through each stunning scene.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2 Follow the line, indeed, as it loops, curves, and winds across cityscapes, landscapes, buildings, animals, trees, sky, and water from early-morning traffic to night. Each deep-hued page encourages a counting of images printed over a busy, endless black line as it outlines figures (and faces) in a succession of graphics imprinted with complementary color shadings. The line simply propels readers on to the next image, question, and page, e.g., How many striped shirts can you count? How many traffic cones can you count? How many cars have their headlights on? An entrancing counting game with a search through detailed art, this title doubles as a vocabulary builder for the youngest readers and includes shapes, colors, and patterns in the search. Following the creative loops and squiggles of the line is entertaining in itself. Ideal for one-on-one sharing. Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Harold and his purple crayon have nothing over Ljungkvist, who takes young readers along on a journey from morning to night, from city to sea to village, through page-filling scenes composed, by and large, with one continuous line. As child-friendly as it is technically sophisticated, this will appeal to counters and crayon-wielders alike." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (May 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670060496
• ISBN-13: 978-0670060498
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whither shall I follow follow follow, whither shall I follow follow thee?, June 20, 2006

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Follow the Line (Hardcover)

Is it bad that the first thing I thought when I picked up this title was, "Oh! An Etch-a-Sketch book". I can be forgiven for this. After all, when a book's gimmick is identical to that of a beloved childhood toy, you're automatically going to associate the two together. And, I might add, to the book's advantage. If everyone that picks up, "Follow the Line" gets the same warm fuzzy feeling they get when they think of playing with their Etch-a-Sketches, it'll be justly deserved. This is a rather amusing little title with an equally amusing premise that's bound to be read over and over again by a certain segment of the child population.

The book actually begins with its cover. Starting with a line that begins at the bottom of the "F" in the title, "Follow The Line", a single white stripe spells out all the letters against a deep black background and then goes off the side of the cover. The line moves across the bookflap, onto the endpapers, around the publication information on the title page, and with a flip we suddenly find ourselves in a city. Buildings, windows, steps, etc. are created by a single sinuous line alongside a brightly colored setting. As we follow the streak we encounter questions about the number of flowers or TV antennas around. When the line escapes off the page, we too escape and find ourselves now creating faces and people and babies and dogs. The book continues in this manner throughout. The line never breaks or cheats and following it means twisting, turning, plummeting, and soaring according to the illustrator's whims. Finally, at the end, the line leaps across the endpapers, onto the bookflap, and to the words, "The End", situated on the book's back cover. Simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.

Laura Ljungkvist may well fall into the category of Author/Illustrators Who Are Too Cool By Half. First of all, check out Ms. Ljungkvist's website for this book at followtheline dot com. She's a design maven who high-tailed it from Sweden to Brooklyn (currently the hippest borough) and ended up working (according to her bookflap), "in fields ranging from fashion to finance". Sheesh! And now she wants to do picture books. Who'd have thunk it? I've always had a kind of touch and go relationship with picture books that dwell in the realm of good design. Either they go absolutely crazy like, "The Graphic Alphabet" by David Pelletier did (it's perhaps THE most ridiculous "children's" book ever constructed with good design in mind) or they come across as simply sublime, as in David Carter's, "One Red Dot". Ljungkvist, I'm happy to say, falls squarely in the "sublime" category. The illustrations in this book are crisp and clear with fabulous colors against a kind of retro-fifties style. At the same time, Ljungkvist has done what Pelletier never deigned to do. She's made each and every page interesting for kids. Sure, they could just follow the line with their finger, but that's not the only amusing aspect to this title. On each page the author has slipped in questions like, "How many fences are there?" or "How many babies are awake?". It's a line game, sure, but it's a counting game and an I spy game as well. Clever girl.

One critic of the book pointed out that the images in this title aren't ALL created by the line. When you look at the forest scene with its skull-like mushrooms (it took me a while to figure out what they exactly were) there are plenty of stumps and trees and even a pond with waterlilies that aren't part of the line itself. Imagine how dull the book might have been if EVERYTHING was made up by the line, though. It might be an interesting exercise, but I applaud Ljungkvist's ability to incorporate simple forms and figures alongside the wacked-out nuttiness of her over-compesating line.

In a funny way, the book this reminded me the most of was that old crazy classic by Ann Jonas, "Round Trip". Of course, the conceit of that book was less follow-the-line as it was read-the-book-upside-down-and-rightside-up. In any case, these two picture books would pair beautifully together. If you have a kid who likes one, they'll probably like the other as well. You might even want to go a little crazy and pair the book with Norton Juster's deeply amusing, "The Dot and the Line: A Romance In Lower Mathematics". Only if you're feeling quirky, mind you. As it stands, "Follow the Line", is the perfect gift to give to a child so as to appear intelligent to the child's parents while still handing the kid something they might actually enjoy. A fun and enticing item.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cool, February 2, 2007

By 

Vito - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Line (Hardcover)

I am a graphic designer and was blown away with ideas and an illustrations in this beautifuly imagined and designed book. Each spread contains riddles to get your child excercise and develop observing and counting skills. A gem.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caldecott Committee, take note, July 21, 2006

By 

E. Wimberley "a Read Aloud Mommy" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Follow the Line (Hardcover)

Laura Ljungkvist is a wonderful author/illustrator, and she has outdone herself with her third book, Follow the Line. I highly recommend that all parents include this book in their home libraries. I always buy books for children's occasions, and this is the book I keep on hand to give any child because it appeals to all. The narrative follows in the tradition of Margaret Wise Brown's classics. The words are simple and elicit conversation between child and reader. The pictures are graphic, simple and bright, and they captivate even the youngest children. Older children enjoy "following the line". With imaginative and innovative illustration, this book is a technical feat. Follow the Line will introduce early readers to the concept of following the stories left to right, through the pages, to the end. Children will gain pre-reading skills and not even be aware of it. Buy this book, enjoy this book, and give this book.