From Publishers Weekly
Rand leads the reader through a joyful parade of children from all over the world in his rendition of the poem about a child playing with his shadow. A Chinese youngster plays kickball in front of a stone lion, a boy balances on the edge of a fountain in Italy, an African tyke stares at a puddle of shadow beneath his feet. Unfortunately, the Stevenson text, with its single narrator, is not well synchronized with the subjects of Rand's illustrations, who vary from page to page. For example, a girl in a garden is pictured saying, "One morning . . . I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup." The sentence is completed by a group of children playing on an island beach who say, "But my lazy little shadow . . . stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed." Although Rand's often idyllic locales are gorgeously depicted, his settings may not always be clear to readers, adding further confusion to the artistic device. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-- Rand's joyous watercolors burble with vivacity, giving Stevenson's much-loved poem both vigor and exuberance . Carefree children swing on a tire, run up steps in an urban neighborhood, play ball before an Oriental temple, frolic around an Italian fountain, stroll with a British nurse, and dash along a South Sea beach, confirming the universality of children playing, and how, when the light is right, they all have shadows performing strange antics. Perhaps most striking is the spread for "And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all"--an African mother and child in colorful native garb look down sedately at small puddles of shadows around their bare, upturned toes. The poem itself should be part of every child's literary background , and Rand's illustrations provide a new accessibility. Unity, peace , and harmony are woven into an exceptional book to share with children .
-Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NBCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
