Before You

Gr 3 Up—This picture book pairs brief sentences with simple ink and Flashe paint illustrations on a white background to describe a sense of incompleteness: "I was a flower with no pot./I was a polka with no dot." "I was a bowl without a fish./A birthday cake without a wish." "I was a sky without the blue./I was a ME without a YOU." A transitional page follows with the line, "Then you arrived and changed the tune!" and an image of animals marching and playing instruments. Text and illustrations now appear on colored backgrounds: "You woke the sun./You lit the moon." "I had a cup, you brought the tea./I had a boat, you brought the sea." "Now I'm a bird and you're my song./So tell me now…/what took you so long?" While the images and text are part of the world of a young child and the colorful animal characters resemble art that a child might create, the theme of dependence upon another person for happiness may be confusing for young readers. This title is best suited for older readers studying forms of expression, but they may find the illustrations condescending.