I Went Walking [Board book]

Sue Williams (Author), Julie Vivas (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996 | Age Level: 2 and up

A young child goes for a walk and discovers a colorful parade of animals along the way. “What a charmer. . . . An excellent story hour choice.”--Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This Australian import presents a repetitive rhyme that will be appreciated most by the very young. A boy takes a walk and encounters a variety of animals: "I went walking / What did I see? / I saw a black cat / Looking at me." The cat follows him, as do all of the other animals he meets: a brown horse, a red cow, a green duck, a pink pig and a yellow dog. Finally the child is leading a veritable parade of animals. Although Williams's text is not particularly imaginative, the book receives spark from Vivas's illustrations. Each time the question is posed, she offers a partial glimpse of the animal, which is not shown in its entirety until the following page. Thus the story becomes a kind of guessing game that little ones will enjoy playing again and again. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

A worthy successor to Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear , What Do You See? (Holt, 1983). With its patterned response to the title, "What did you see?," and the accompanying lead-in picture showing part of a farmyard animal, this book immediately draws children into the story. The lively, unspoken storyline of a shock-headed toddler playing silly games with the animals he meets and gradually shedding his shoes, socks, and jacket fills out the spare text for beginning readers. The accumulating line of animals marching in wild sweeping patterns across the page gives viewers a bouncy, flowing experience from page to page. With only six animals, the story is brief; the watercolors, while predominantly realistic in tone and anatomical detail, have an exaggerated roundness and glow that give a fanciful turn to the naming story. The animals and toddler become progressively more animated, until story's end, which features a two-page, wordless spread reminiscent of Max's "wild rumpus" in Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are . The focus on the pages is clearly on the short text and the characters, making for a simple yet active experience for beginning readers and very young listeners. --Ruth K. MacDonald, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Board book: 30 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152007717
• ISBN-13: 978-0152007713
• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Basic Concepts > Colors
  • #56 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Farm Animals > Fiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a treasure, May 8, 2002

By 

Tracy Robert (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Went Walking (Hardcover)

I discovered "I Went Walking" when I taught first grade. It was a part of their literature series early in the year. I have no children of my own and I own both the board book and the paperback edition of this book because I love the illustrations and the rhythmical quality of the text. As someone who has professionally worked with children ages 2-12, I find that this kind of text is invaluable to early readers (ages 2-7). Children can easily pick up on the patterns in the sentences and begin developing many pre-reading skills (like being able to identify the left to right movement of written sentences). To find books that your young child will want to read over and over again is a jewel in their literacy development. To find books like this that you will want to read over and over again with your child is a treasure box of time shared!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST board book ever!, June 15, 2001

By 

Amy J - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Went Walking (Board book)

This book is so sweet. The watercolor paintings are colorful without being brash, and the child and animals are all realistic and yet stylized at the same time. I love how the child is not defined by the story as being a boy or a girl, and that it looks ambiguous enough to be either.

The repetition of the story makes it easy to read and easy for an older child to learn, and yet isn't the kind of repetition that drives parents wild. As the child gets older, you can drop words and let them "fill in the blank" as they look at the pictures to identify both the animals and the animals' colors.

When I was a Nanny my charge and I adored this book and read it at least a hundred times. Now that I am home with my own son, I bought the book for him and he loves it too!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you own E. Carle's "Brown Bear" You Will NOT Want This Bk, February 21, 2000

By 

J & M's mom (Northville, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Went Walking (Board book)

This book is cute however the text is nearly identical to E. Carle's "Brown Bear". I returned this book only because we owned the other already.