Things to Do

Starred review from November 14, 2016
Newcomer Magliaro constructs a series of whimsical to-do lists whose headers (“Things to do if you are dawn”) offer witty counterpoints to the bursts of poetry that follow: “Shoo away night./ Wash the eastern sky with light./ Wake the sleeping sun:/ Rise and shine!” Magliaro excels at finding powerful verbs (“Flit among flowers./ Sip nectar for hours./ Be yellow and fuzzy./ Stay busy. Be buzzy”), her rhymes are tight and inventive, the vocabulary is challenging without being stilted, and the tempo of each poem varies. Ever thought about being an eraser? “Go on—wear yourself out!” The moon? “Hang in the darkness./ Dazzle the night.” Chien (A Boy and a Jaguar) works in gauzy fields of color, following a dark-haired child and a dog through these flights of imagination—the child jumps off a swing and soars into space like a falling acorn, and later stares at the stars as crickets “Rub wings/ and sing/ a lullaby.” Magliaro’s observations are scientific in their precision and joyous in tone—lovely for parent and child to share, and equally rich as a writing prompt. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

November 15, 2016
In rhyming text, a child imagines the furtive joys of a range of anthropomorphized concepts and objects."Things to do if you are DAWN / shoo away night. / Wash the eastern sky with light. / Wake the sleeping sun: / Rise and shine!" After pecking for breakfast on the lawn, a bird might stretch its wings "on the brightening sky." Magliaro's approach is poetic but not particularly systematic, although that makes it winningly childlike. The series of "if you are"s also includes an acorn, a honeybee, a snail, the sun, the sky, an eraser, a pair of scissors, rain, boots, an orb spider, crickets, and the moon. The poetry is graceful, with key words set in uppercase and descriptors in varying typefaces evoking the moods. Chien's brushy-textured acrylic illustrations convey the breezy feelings that make the musings soar, employing diaphanous layers that lend a fuzzy, dreamlike feel. Effective page compositions vary perspectives to make the images sway in the breeze. The orb spider spread, with the light-skinned dreamer's face behind a web, is aesthetically striking. Wearing a hat and pants, the child is not identified as a girl, but the patterned endpapers depicting a child in a dress imply gender. A sidekick dog adds another touch of whimsy. When the day is just waiting be filled with fun, one of the "things to do" may well be to share this with some children. (Picture book. 4-7)

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February 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-Short poems, mostly about things found in nature, are akin to the language of Michael Hall's recent release Wonderfall. Each selection begins with the phrase "Things to do if you are..." For example, if you are a bird: "Go find your breakfast./It's strewn on the lawn./Better come get it/before it's all gone!/Stretch out your wings/on the brightening sky./Morning's upon us./Get ready to fly!" Other ordinary wonders that are explored include a honeybee, an acorn, a snail, the sun, the sky, rain, crickets, and more. Chien's illustrations, mostly done in a pastel color palette with a textured feel, are similar to those in Naoko Stoop's "Red Knit Cap Girl" series. Taking a closer look at everyday things is an interesting subject, and this title may pair well with early science activities and observations.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
This collection of verses follows a child through her day and her environment. The poems--all starting with "Things to do..." and from the perspectives of animals, an acorn, an eraser, the sun, times of day, and more--vary in length and structure, keeping things interesting. Colorful fonts are set against Chien's lush, evocative acrylic illustrations, which make clever use of the poems' imagery.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)