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by Jo Empson (Child’s Play, 2012)

Here’s a book that’s deceptively simple in text, in color, in motion.

An average rabbit, doing average rabbity things. White space, dark spot illustrations. Calm and steady.

But then. The page turn is the miraculous pacing tool for the picture book, and this one is a masterpiece. Swiftly, from the expected to the unexpected, from straightforward rabbityness to the unusual.

And the beautiful. And the wild and the wonderful.

Jo Empson’s art is a storyteller to follow. It unfolds visually, deftly, magically.

Desperately.

Because one day, Rabbit is gone. So is the color and the movement and the life.

“All that Rabbit had left was a hole.”

But, much like the art, Rabbit was a storyteller to follow.

And the color returns.

It’s a story about making a mark that leaves a legacy. It’s about telling a story and remembering one. It’s for anyone who is daring enough to leave drips of unrabbityness, and anyone brave enough to chase them.

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5 Stars When a Dragon Moves In Jodi Moore Howard McWilliam 23 Pages     Ages: 4 to 8 ........ .......... Inside Jacket:  If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in—and that’s exactly what happens to one very lucky boy on the beach. The boy and his dragon brave the waves, roast marshmallows, roam [...]

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5 STARS Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building Christy Hale Lee and Low Books January 2013 32 Pages     Ages: 4 to 8 ……………….. Children building— Concrete poetry— Inside Jacket:  Pair them with notable structures from around the world and see children’s constructions taken to the level of architectural treasures. Here is a unique celebration of [...]

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What Can I Hear? Annie Kubler. 2011. Child's Play. 12 pages.

Clitter,
clatter,
crashing!
Bing, bong bashing!

What Can I Taste? Annie Kubler. 2011. Child's Play. 12 pages.

Soft,
fruity
banana...
...and sweet
trickles
of juice.

What Can I Feel? Annie Kubler. 2011. Child's Play. 12 pages.

Tingling toes...
...shivery, 
quivery snow
on my nose.

What Can I See? Annie Kubler. 2011. Child's Play. 12 pages.

A 
butterfly,
flutter
by.


Jiggling bugs
going round
and round
and round.

What Can I Smell? Annie Kubler. 2011. Child's Play. 12 pages.

Soapy
smells
and...
fresh towels
for bathtime
cuddles.

Today I am sharing with you five board books that were recently published by Child's Play. These five board books work best together. Each board book focuses on one of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Each board book uses descriptive language--it's very rich in adjectives--to illustrate the sense. The images--or objects--being described in each book are familiar ones to young ones.

From What Can I Taste?

Sweet
chocolate
splats...
...and crumbly
cake.


Swirly, twirly spaghetti tangles...
...and
munchy,
crunchy
vegetable
sticks.


Not all of the descriptions are as fun--to me--as "swirly, twirly spaghetti tangles" but I think that is one of the best examples. Because that is almost poetic. You can definitely visualize that...AND it is fun to say!


My two favorites are What Can I Hear? and What Can I Taste? The others are just okay.


Read these board books

• If you've got a little one two or under that you love and want to read to
• If you're looking for examples--for better or worse--of descriptive language
  

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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