From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5 - These 14short poems all depict little moments of being human. The disasters referred to in the subtitle range from big to small, from comic ("Hello apple!/Shiny red./CHOMP. CHOMP./Hello worm./Where's your head?") to sad (a child is shown holding a dead rabbit, a classroom pet: "His tall straight ears, his long quick feet/Trailed like falling velvet drapes."). Embarrassment, shame, fear, chagrin: all of these feelings are so common in childhood that a collection of poems about them seems natural. Erlbruch, a well-known German artist, creates pictures that show this range of emotions beautifully. At first glance, they are deceptively simple and spare. A closer look reveals that what seems to be a quietly colored drawing actually has the subtle variation in texture of a collage. Ample white space, simple backgrounds, and a font that looks both childlike and elegant all combine to enhance this lovely book. A winner from a prolific poet/editor/compiler and a talented illustrator.
- Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Lee Bennett Hopkins's poetry anthologies include Days to Celebrate, Marvelous Math, which won a Parents' Choice Gold Award and was a Reading Rainbow selection, Spectacular Science, and Got Geography! He has also received a Christopher Award and the University of Southern Mississippi's Medallion for lasting contributions to children's literature." Lee Bennett Hopkins lives in Cape Coral, Florida.