Review by Booklist Review
Everything's a blast / When you do it really fast. From playing jacks or hopscotch on the city sidewalk to jumping rope ( It's the slap / slap / slap / of two jump ropes when they touch ), the sounds of the rhyming words are part of the fun in this picture-book poetry collection, and the broad, colorful, digitally colored spreads show kids in uproarious motion together, barreling down a hill and hanging upside down on the swings, and also absorbed in imaginative play, from hide-and-seek in the jungle to making the title's discovery that a stick has multiple possibilities for games. Even the youngest children will recognize the hands-on enjoyment of making soup with mud, grass, stones, and more. After all the wild activity, the book's climax is quiet: stargazing with Dad from a window before sleep. Fun for sharing and acting out many times over, at home and in playgroups.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
On a hot summer day, children revel in the joys of free outdoor play, with no computer screens or electrical outlets in sight. One poem echoes the rhythm of a jump rope ("In the town/ town/ town/ there are noises all around"), while a girl in a park sees the world turned on its head as she dangles from the monkey bars: "Upside-down houses/ with upside-down stoops./ Upside-down players/ at upside-down hoops." In a palette dominated by pale yellows, bright greens and blues, and sunset purples, Pham's grainy mixed-media scenes could take place anytime in the past 50 years, emphasizing the timeless (some might say lost) art of outdoor activity. Ages 4-8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. Illustrator's agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick and Pratt Agency. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-From running through sprinklers to blowing bubbles to catching fireflies, this book has 18 short poems about active, imaginative play in summer weather. The first few lines of the title poem give an idea of the simplicity of the rhythmic verses: "A stick is an excellent thing./If you find the perfect one,/it's a scepter for a king.." The accompanying illustration is a line of smiling, stick-wielding children. Loosely structured, the collection begins in the peace of an early morning: "Every summer morning/I'm always the first one/to go outside, to toss my ball,/to lose it in the sun." It ends with a quiet poem about a child and parent stargazing. The attractive, digitally enhanced pictures match the spirit of the verses well but fall a bit short in the way of depth and texture. While not an essential purchase, this is an appealing book.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2012. 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
No iPads or Xboxes here. Poet Singer writes about the old-fashioned kind of play, where the only equipment you need is a ball or a piece of chalk or a set of jacks. Each of the eighteen poems celebrates one type of outdoor play, from the very simplest in "Edges" ("I like to walk the edges -- / the curbs, the rims, the little ledges") to the more complex game in "Statues," where one child is the sculptor and the other children the statues. Singer uses different styles of poetry, including one poem for two voices, and moves the poems from morning to dusk, finishing with "Catching Fireflies" and the peaceful "Stargazing." Pham's illustrations match the retro feel of the games and feature a multicultural group of children, with wide eyes and wide smiles, enjoying the exciting play. susan dove lempke From HORN BOOK, Copyright The Horn Book, used with permission.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book/poetry. 3-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
