Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A spirited young girl, accompanied by her shaggy dog, describes how she plants some seeds, cares for them, and then enjoys the flowers and trees that make the "whole round world" beautiful. Each verse details a particular action and ends with a refrain that evokes the title: "I've got a little water can./(Skinny, tinny water can.)/Got a little water can/to wet the whole round world." The narrator stays very busy tending to her plants, spreading happiness along the way, and enjoying a final dance through green environs. Johnston's repetitive language is playful and reads aloud smoothly. Done in a variety of mediums, the full-page folk-art paintings are filled to the brim with people, animals, bugs, and blooms. Even the pages with text have illustrations in a circle around the words. Kids could spend hours just looking at everything in the pictures. The bright colors and rhythmic language also make this a good choice for units that celebrate nature.-Bethany L. W. Hankinson, Miller Elementary School, Newark, OH (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
I've got a little sack of seeds. / (Fat and slick like glassy beads.) / Got a little sack of seeds / to plant the whole round world."" A girl plants some seeds and sings about the natural world in a series of rhymed verses. The repetitive stanzas don't quite live up to the jubilant illustrations, which are filled with animals and charming details. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Amid swirls of brightly colored birds, bugs, seeds, leaves, wild creatures, buildings and people, a child ties her shoes, then goes out to plant, nurture and spread a garden--all to the tune of Johnston's song-like verses: "I've got a little pair of shoes. / (How I love my little shoes!) / Got a little pair of shoes / to dance the whole green world." Young children will happily dance along--if they can tear themselves away from Kleven's paint and decorated-paper collages, that is. Her scenes build and build as each verse features another creature. Some serious searching will reveal repeat visitors, some upside down on the other side of the world and some in the farthest regions. Facing each busy scene, the words are encircled by whatever they salute--ants, the sun, even the phases of the moon. A bouncy, lyrical alternative or companion for the likes of David Mallett's Inch By Inch: The Garden Song (1995), illus by Ora Eitan, or Frank Asch's Earth and I (1994). (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
