Amazon.com Review
Illustrated in gorgeous, muted hues, this board-book version of an elegantly simple poem is a picture perfect introduction to animal--and people--sounds for very young readers. Every page, framed in decorative borders, reveals a critter making noise: "Flies hum. / Dogs growl. / Bats screech. / Coyotes howl. / Frogs croak. / Parrots squawk. / Bees buzz. / But I talk!" The animal sounds emerge from or surround the animal itself; thus, "snore snore snore snore..." wafts drowsily out of the mouth of the slumbering bear as snow drifts around the edges of the den. Three children, of different ethnicities, make occasional, giggling appearances throughout, urging each other forward to let their own voices be heard: "But I speak!" "But I say!" "But I talk!" Award-winning artist Tomie dePaola (
26 Fairmount Avenue) is in fine form with his luminous folk-art illustrations, which make a delightful accompaniment to Arnold L. Shapiro's friendly rhymes. (Baby to preschool)
--Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to the
Board book
edition.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1. DePaola's latest offering combines his wonderfully detailed folk-art illustrations with a poem by Shapiro originally entitled "I Speak, I Say, I Talk." Three wide-eyed, enthusiastic guides, two boys and a girl, bear the message that every living thing has something to utter, but only humans talk. Speech balloons encapsulate their words. The two characters who aren't speaking listen and watch their friend with happy facial expressions. Brilliant watercolors and a vignette-style format make this book a perfect choice for read-aloud sessions. The animals represented are shown in their natural habitats: the bear snores while hibernating in a cave, the sheep bleats in the meadow, the frog croaks in the pond, etc. However, Shapiro's poem uses sounds that are not commonly identified with that animal. For example, "Crickets creak" rather than chirp; "Flies hum" rather than buzz. Still, this is an entertaining presentation of a concept not commonly introduced to young children.?Susan Garland, Maynard Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
