From Publishers Weekly
The phrase, "When I grow up, I want to be...," typically precedes a career choice, but in this amiable debut volume, Harper fills in the blank with qualities like "brave" and "determined." Each spread presents a single word, hand-printed in colorful capital letters, along with a statement and illustration to demonstrate the ideal. She matches the term "generous" with a winter scene between two friends ("You can have one of my mittens, I'll keep my hand in my pocket"). "Imaginative" pictures a girl, a few thought bubbles and the artistic suggestion, "Let's make something out of this box." Harper short-circuits sentimentality by adopting a na?ve folk-art style, ? la Calef Brown or Rodney Alan Greenblat. Her playful acrylic paintings feature polka-dot frames and a recurrent set of animals, including a blue-green squirrel, a hat-wearing dog and a comical six-legged bug "magnified" by inset windows. Most memorably, Harper uses black-and-white photos of children's faces, seemingly snipped from a grade school yearbook, as collage elements. These illustrations are funny without mocking their anonymous subjects, and they have a do-it-yourself appeal. In addition to youngsters, this volume also suits those who have outgrown childhood, but still aspire to be "confident" and "optimistic." All ages. (Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-This picture book opens with the statement, "When I grow up I want to be-" and then devotes a double-page spread to each of 14 positive attributes. Each trait is presented on the verso along with an illustrative example portrayed on the recto. A girl shows how "adventurous" she can be when she eagerly agrees to try some "purple and orange polka dot pizza." A boy shows readers how to be "generous" when he shares his mittens with a yellow dog. The final double-page spread, which resembles a classroom bulletin board, encourages readers to apply all the positive characteristics to their daily lives. Harper's cheery illustrations combine acrylic paintings with photographs of children's heads completing the figures. Observant readers will enjoy finding enlarged, framed illustrations of blue bugs and direction lines that point to where the bugs are hiding on each right-hand page. Every page is framed and the textured, vibrant illustrations have a tactile element. Educators may find this colorful book useful when discussing behavior and interactions with others.
Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
