Hands [Paperback]

Lois Ehlert (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

A child watches her mother and father as they work with their hands, and she knows she wants to build and sew and garden and paint just like them. When they give her a special place to work, lots of good materials, and plenty of encouragement, she makes the most wonderful things! “It’s a work that looks simple, but encompasses at least as many grand notions as Ehlert’s first book, Growing Vegetable Soup.”--Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1. Charming, creative, and unique, this vibrant title celebrates and nurtures the efforts of young artists. Twice as wide as it is tall, the cover is sturdy cardboard in the shape of a bright yellow work glove with a red wrist band. Inside, pages are interspersed with smaller pages (some die-cut and fold-out) picturing projects and tools used in gardening and creating handicrafts. Written from the perspective of a young child, the narrative explains how mom and dad make things?from wood, paint, cloth, lace, even growing plants, and how they are teaching the narrator to do the same. At the end of the book, the child declares, "I want to be an artist"?that text is followed by a small cutout hand-print page superimposed on a larger work glove (green with white hearts) with the words, "Then I'll join hands with my mom and dad." This lavish, interactive book is a hands-down choice for gift-giving, but fragile for heavy library use.?Lisa Falk, Palos Verdes Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

In a book that resembles work gloves, an unnamed child speaks of hands: the hands of parents, and the child's own. In pages of vivid, saturated colors, ``my father'' builds birdhouses and plants vegetables, while ``my mother'' sews quilts and plants flowers. Their roles are traditional, but the child works, with joy, alongside both of them, and wants to be an artist. The clever shapes--a tin box that opens to reveal screwdrivers, a flap that turns out to be the lid of the child's box of paints- -lead to a satisfying final overlay of a child's hand print, Mom's heart-patterned gardening gloves, and Dad's work gloves-- the book's cover. It's a work that looks simple, but encompasses at least as many grand notions as Ehlert's first book, Growing Vegetable Soup (1987). (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 20 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015201506X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152015060
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,168,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LOIS EHLERT has created many picture books, including Leaf Man, Pie in the Sky, In My World, Growing Vegetable Soup, Planting a Rainbow, and the bestselling Waiting for Wings. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful glove story., October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hands (Paperback)

The book is a work of art the way the differently shaped pages are put together. The colors are very homey and sweet.

Our children loved the book because it's really written for them. The author understands how important it is to a child when something like a scissor is "my size." Or when they get their own work table next to Mom's, or their own chore tailored to a special talent they have.

As parents, we loved being reminded about how much our children want to copy us in our hobbies or in even the most routine household chores. It's inspiring.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrating Creativity, December 13, 2004

By 

E. S. Will "a new leaf" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hands (Paperback)

[This review was first published in "The Ephrata (Pa.) Review."]

All of Ehlert's productions are cornucopias of color, shapes and textures, and this is no exception. "Hands" celebrates the creative spirit that inspires someone to pick up a hammer, a needle, a paintbrush, a trowel. The short text is autobiographical; a girl's project-oriented parents set up a folding table for her budding handiwork efforts.