Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.įor Berkner’s fans there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.Īctor and author Witherspoon makes her picture-book debut.īetty, a light-skinned, bespectacled child with blond pigtails, was born busy. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details.
(They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep.
What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. A seek-and-find element adds to the fun of poring over the pages-a cat, rabbit, T-rex and mouse are hidden in each painting.įans and those looking for books about occupations may find themselves looking askance at every snowman they see.īerkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche. Hat, mitten and scarf styles add personality to the characters-don’t miss the librarian’s and teacher’s. Especially fun is the pet store, where all the animals are made of snow: a snow rabbit with carrot ears, a snow monkey swinging from the lights and “coldfish” in a tank. Each work scene is filled with familiar occupational details, like the clip that attaches the dentist’s cloth around patients’ necks and the decorations that adorn the classroom-it’s just the characters that seem out of place to 98.6-degree readers. The Buehners continue their snowmen-come-to-life shtick with this look at occupations.Ī boy who made a snowman the night before awakens to find new snow on the ground but already-cleared walkways-by his snowman? “Was he the one who shoveled, with a snowman shoveling crew? / Could it be I just don’t see that snowmen have jobs too?” Caralyn Buehner’s rhyming verses then lead readers in an imaginative tour of other jobs snowmen might have: mechanic (for sleds), grocer, baker, magician, firefighter, “pizza man,” factory worker and truck driver.
0 kommentar(er)
