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We’ve promised to be quiet, as quiet as a mouse
Found some cardboard boxes, we’ll pretend one’s a boat
The other is a castle, around it the moat"
In this colorfully illustrated collection of poems, young readers enter a world of imagination, where cardboard boxes become boats, glove puppets keep hands warm, and birthdays grant an overabundance of feet. Energetic kids fly brightly colored kites with "a tail with lots of bows on the string / Flying like a bird soaring high on a wing." Pirates even join the crowd, taking them to "Seas of blue and beaches with gold sand." Children also play in parks, "Running to the round-a-bout, it stops and on I get. / Whirling, round and round it goes / Feeling rather dizzy now—oh no!" In other poems, young readers learn the magic of playing with others: "We all are having such fun with this box of toys. / In high spirits making lots of noise."
The power of this playful collection lies in its positive energy. Children and young readers will gravitate to not only the cheerful rhymes but also the magical illustrations by Frances Espanol. Because of its mastery of rhyme schemes and rhythm, the book becomes a great learning tool for children who need a more engaging method of learning to read. Visual learners will appreciate the pictures, which not only accompany and embody the poems but also tell their own stories that will fuel young readers' imaginations. Because of its illustrations, this book is a great accompaniment to other children's books like Eek! My Ink! Parents hoping to inspire a love of poetry and wordplay, and literature in general, in their children will also appreciate this book.