FICTION

Look and Be Grateful

by Tomie DEPAOLA
illus. by Tomie dePaola. 32p. ebook available. Holiday House. 2015. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9780823434435. LC 2014044525.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—With very simple wording, accompanied by dePaola's signature illustrations, this text reminds young children that every day is a gift for which we should be grateful. The nondenominational lesson does not mention God or any particular religion, although two children are pictured in prayer stance on their knees with heads bowed. The visual story begins on the endpages with a moonlit and starlit night. Darkness fades on the title page. The sun rises outside a window as a sleeping child is directed, "Open your eyes, and look." Observing nature is important as the pictures include plants, animals, and insects, in addition to the children. A spread shows hands of varying skin tones reaching toward one another. The uncluttered pages suit the minimal text and make the book accessible to very young children.
VERDICT A gentle message for families, church preschools, and other early childhood programs.
Reviewed by Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
With all the picture books designed for just-before-sleep (see Thank You and Good Night and Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! in this issue), why not one to bring you awake? DePaola’s rouse from sleep is a gentle one, asking readers to “open your eyes, and look.” The text remains quiet, moving from its opening imploration to a suggested response: “Be grateful, for everything you see.” The brief handwritten text on peachy-beige paper is accompanied by the simplest of images: a child, a flower or two, one of the artist’s signature doves. A closing picture shows two children kneeling, nondenominationally, in prayer. While puzzling out an abstraction like “for today is today” might not be the easiest of peep-of-day tasks, just trust kids to roll with it as they go about their business. roger sutton
DePaola's rouse from sleep is a gentle one, asking readers to "open your eyes, and look." The text remains quiet, moving from its opening imploration to a suggested response: "Be grateful, for everything you see." The brief handwritten text on peachy-beige paper is accompanied by the simplest of images: a child, a flower or two, one of the artist's signature doves.
 , Dec 01, 2015

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