One Springy, Singy Day

January 15, 2021
Page after rhyming page, playful words dance from beginning to end in this read-aloud for the very young. "Stretchy / yawny / wide awake at dawn-y." Waking with a morning stretch, one child starts the action as different children are shown throughout a day full of inside and outside activities. According to the second-person text, each child is "a buzzy, busy bee" until they fall into bed, "comfy, cozy" at the end of the story. The diverse cast of young children interact with one another in scenes brimming with exciting details. As the day moves from morning to evening, the journey includes a summertime backyard garden, a cheery, toy-filled playroom, a make-believe theater complete with an audience of stuffed animals, and the craft room in a library. Children will enjoy the singsong pace of the text as they follow the characters from place to place. Little ones can point out familiar events (pre-Covid-19, that is) such as going to the market and stopping at the playground on the way home. The endpapers are just as much fun as the book. Seventeen colorful miniscenes are packed with whimsies of their own. This bonus gives extra material for making up even more stories to entertain wiggly preschoolers. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.) Lively illustrations give oodles of discussion topics, making this a book young children will love listening to over and over. (Picture book. 2-5)

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