Look What I Can Do!

February 15, 2013
Baby animals strive to "stand up strong," leap high and "spin a trap." But learning is full of challenges, distractions and fun. In this message-driven tale, children see how various creatures struggle to develop and gain confidence. Viau chooses a single rhyming couplet to describe most spreads. A baby bird knows, "It's not easy to leave the nest. / I flap my wings. I try my best." Unfortunately each couplet strictly follows the same pattern, which grates by the end. A periodic chorus--"Friends of forest, / field, and stream, / Keep trying on your own. / Be proud today. / Have fun and play. / In time you will be grown"--comes across as a series of well-meaning but stale platitudes. The bright spot is Vojtech's impressive illustrations. She chooses to zoom in on the animal pairs featured in each spread, which creates an exciting immediacy for those poring over the details. On the pages with the refrain, children will especially enjoy looking for each animal duo previously introduced. In the end, this all serves to remind kids to take things slowly and keep trying new things, be they walking, hopping or skipping rope. This title was clearly produced with the best of intentions, but regrettably, it does not quite coalesce into a successful reading experience. (Picture book. 3-5)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2013

PreS-K-High in an oak tree, an owl and her two owlets survey the creatures below in the sun-drenched meadow. A fawn struggles to stand, little snakes slither, and young squirrels hide their acorns in the ground. On each full-color spread, a rhymed couplet describes the action as the parent looks on. "It's not easy to leave the nest./I flap my wings. I try my best," says a small yellow bird. A bear cub learns how hard it is to catch fish as its mother watches. The little owls do a merry dance on a branch of their tree while below a girl skips rope and a boy plays with his ball. As this scene is repeated with its accompanying rhyme, all the youngsters are shown turning somersaults, playing tag, and splashing into pond and stream. The serious business of learning new things is lightened as they play. Large, eye-catching images of the animals and their young are realistically painted, and their faces are wonderfully expressive. While the final pages focus on the girl, the boy, and their family, the last rhyme applies to all the youngsters. "Things get easier every day./Just watch what I can do today." This gently affirming tale is perfect for parent-and-child sharing and offers many opportunities for discussion. Pair it with Pamela Duncan Edwards's While the World Is Sleeping (Scholastic, 2010) for an engaging storytime.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.