Review by Booklist Review
Ages 6^-10. Imagination is the name of the game, and Perry plays it with distinction. Each left-hand page carries a short phrase beginning with the word If and trailing off in a series of dots, phrases ranging from the strange ("If toes were teeth . . ." ) to the bizarre ("If caterpillars were toothpaste . . ." ) to the striking ("If lightning made rhinos . . ." ) to the enigmatic ("If music could be held . . ." ). The words are mere jumping-off places for Perry's visual flights of fancy. On each right-hand page is an eye-catching, mind-bending illustration of the phrase. The artwork, evidently done in pastels, features rich colors, subtle shading, and enough realism in the technique to make the entertaining and implausible pictures believable. Since the book is made to be shared ("Look at this one!" ), teachers may want to show it to the whole class at once, then pass out the art supplies so that children can play the game, too. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In her first book for children, Perry, an artist, suggests a series of impossible propositions, then makes each come true in striking if sometimes disturbing paintings. Her text sets up one scenario after another (``If frogs ate rainbows''; ``If dogs were mountains'') and ends with the suggestion ``If this is the end.../ Then dream up some more!'' Many concepts are funny (``If zebras had stars and stripes''); many are both intriguing and comic. ``If ugly were beautiful,'' for example, is paired with a painting of a warthogwith warts, bristles, wrinkles and allwearing a glittering diamond tiara fit for a beauty queen. Other visions are more surrealistic: ``If mice were hair'' captions a picture of a child's head aswarm with lanky, squirming mice. Elsewhere, a girl in green sunglasses parts her lips to reveal a row of realistically drawn toes; a blue toddler marches off with a green elephant, holding its tailwhich closely resembles the child's own. While the artwork is arresting, the premise would be better served with a more supple, varied text and a stronger ending. Ages 3-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3æTwenty full-page, mixed-media color paintings with fantastic themes are offered here. The subjects include some children and numerous animals; most of them are depicted with atypical limbs, in strange environments, or engaged in unexpected activities. Whales swim in outer space; frogs swallow rainbows; a nude child sporting a tail is led by an elephant. The text consists of one phrase in the center of an otherwise blank page opposite each illustration that begins with the word, "If," e.g., "If cats could fly . . . ", "If worms had wheels . . ." While many of the stark illustrations are striking, the story itself is not fulfilling. Nothing happens, no points are madeæeach picture is simply a dead end. Also, the painting of a child sporting writhing mice instead of hair is repugnant. Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Houghton, 1984) presents drawings full of possibilities, well matched with a minimal text that hints at supernatural presences and weird adventures about to happen. Judi Barrett's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Atheneum, 1978) has an internal logic that suspends disbelief. If Perry's title offered a story or a cogent thought it might work; as it is, only her sense of whimsy is indulged.æKarey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library (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
Perry proposes a series of fantastic suppositions, such as 'if frogs ate rainbows' or 'if whales lived in outer space,' then answers with an illustration. Arresting artwork is coupled with concepts that are sometimes provocative but at other times fairly mundane. From HORN BOOK 1995, (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.
