Lilian Moore is a renowned poet and author of many well-loved books for children. She says, "The verses in I'm Small will engage readers, I hope, because of the real emotions behind them." Lilian lives in Washington, USA. Jill McElmurry has done illustrations for magazines, posters and book jackets. She is also the illustrator of the children's book Mad About Plaid. She says of I'm Small, "Reading these evocative poems for the first time I was transported back to the days of mud pies and rope swings. I was reminded of feelings I'd forgotten I'd had as a small child." Jill lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and their two dogs.
This uneven collection of 18 poems has moments of literary excellence and, unfortunately, archaisms as well. At their best, Moore's (I Never Did That Before) verses are models of economy, child-friendly and evocative. For example, a child muses on the joys of a snowsuit: "I'm zippered/ up to my chin./ I like my zipper skin./ I like the way it keeps me/ IN." Other entries seem dated, either in their references or in their use of language. A list of things that come in pairs includes "gloves to wear going to town"; a child describing an arm that's fallen asleep says, "Ooh!/ Now that it's waking,/ How funny it is!/ Like ginger ale/ That starts to fizz." A recurring cast of multicultural children stars in the illustrations. The mood of the pictures is invariably cheerful; even when a narrator is shown growing bored (as in the poem "Waiting"), McElmurry adds a comic touch (in this case, a cat unties the ribbon on the present the narrator waits to give someone). However, her contributions here lack the wit of her Mad About Plaid. Ages 2-6.
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