Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-- The master of enjoyable didacticism offers a flight of fancy into the future of a generic ``you'' who is venturing out into the world, where he will have ups and downs but will succeed and finally ``MOVE MOUNTAINS!'' While doting relatives will find this extended greeting card an ideal gift for nursery school graduates, the story will have less appeal for children than Seuss' story books and easy readers. Seuss' characteristic drawings carry and extend the text through mazelike streets, over colorful checkerboard landscapes, into muddy blue ``slumps,'' through heady highs when fame results from success at the game of life, and through dark, lonely confrontations with graveyard-like fears in times of solitude. While the text gives a strong message of self-determination and potential, the small, male ``you'' pictured seems more of a passive passenger on his journey through life, reacting to things as they come and walking along with his eyes shut on both the first and last pages of the text. Although this does not rank among the best of Seuss' books, its stress on self-esteem and imaginative artwork make it a good addition to picture-book collections. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
What appears to be a standard, cheerful Dr. Seuss picture book has disquieting undertones of pessimism and depression. In the story, a young person starting out in life is warned about the failures and loneliness that are bound to occur at times. Whether the picture book audience is ready for so much discouragement is doubtful. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lightly disguised as one of the old versifier's fantastical journeys, a rueful survey of the pleasures and pitfalls along the road of life--a sort of commencement address for tots and their elders. The clever, tripping rhymes and whimsical creatures and landscapes here will draw the faithful as usual, though the illustrations are subtler than the good doctor has produced at his most ebullient--there are pages where the wide world looks as placid as a counterpane, and some the beasts that lurk in wait look as though they have their own troubles. Most beguiling, however, is the artful phrasing of the gentle message: caught in life's waiting games, we wait for ""the mail to come, or the rain to go/or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow. . .or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants/or a wig with curls, or Another Chance."" And, while there will be fun and fame, ""you'll play lonely games too./Games you can't win/'cause you'll play against you."" There is, of course, an upbeat conclusion: ""You're off to Great Places!. . ./So. . .get on your way!"" Montaigne pointed out that it's the journey that matters, not the arrival; here, Seuss explores the same philosophical message in his own inimitably wise and witty style. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
