Mice Squeak, We Speak by Arnold L. Shapiro.  Illustrated by Tomie
dePaola
Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward.  Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Exactly the Opposite photographed by Tana Hoban
Sun Snow Stars Sky written and illustrated by Catherine and Laurence
Anholt

NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL		            ISSN 1078-8697
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Vol. 5, No. 8c         Picture Books, ages 2-6           8/7/97

__ Mice Squeak, We Speak_ by Arnold L. Shapiro.  Illustrated by Tomie
dePaola.  Putnam, 1997 (0-399-23202-8) $13.95

Three playful children lead us through a simple description of the
different sounds animals and humans make:  "Crickets creak/Mice
squeak/Sheep baa/But I speak!" Rchly and colorfully "framed" in folk-art
style, the vivid illustrations have a cheerful air that makes them
particularly appealing and the rhyming text moves effortlessly; listeners
can be easily tempted to join in during read alouds.  

__ Cookie's Week_ by Cindy Ward.  Illustrated by Tomie dePaola.  Putnam,
1988; Paperstar, 1997 (0-698-11435-3) $4.95 pb

What a week Cookie the cat is having!  On Monday he fell into the
toilet, Tuesday he knocked a plant of the windowsill, Wednesday he
upset the trash can... it's hard to know who to feel sorrier for,
Cookie or his owners!  This is a fun look at the kinds of inadvertent
mischief all small, curious beings get into sometimes, told with a
combination of novelty and repetition that makes it an easy
read-aloud.  The cleverly designed pictures keep Cookie mostly hidden
until the end, with only pawprints and a speedily disappearing tail to
show who's responsible for the messes he leaves behind.

__ Exactly the Opposite_ photographed by Tana Hoban.  Greenwillow, 1990
(0-688-08861-9); Mulberry, 1997 (0-688-15473-5) $4.95 pb

What is an opposite, anyway?  We all think we know, but it's actually
a surprisingly slippery concept--as I found out when I tried to explain
it to several mentally handicapped students I was tutoring.  Too bad I
didn't have this book, which looks at just about every kind of
opposite there is.  Strikingly composed, action-filled photographs
show that opposites can be front and back, empty or full, whole or
broken, fire or ice.  As usual, Hoban needs no words; the pictures
themselves cry out for discussion.

__ Sun Snow Stars Sky_ written and illustrated by Catherine and Laurence
Anholt.  Viking, 1995 (0-670-86196-0) $13.99; Puffin, 1997
(0-14-055824-1) $4.99 pb

(reprinted from the hardcover review, volume 3, number 4g)

A series of short vignettes introduces toddlers to the concept of
weather and seasons, inviting them to share their thoughts about hot,
cold, rainy  and cloudy days.  Not especially interesting to just read
aloud, but a nice participatory book, with lots of bright, colorful
pictures of plump, cuddly children enjoying the weather.