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Index Interviews: Dan Simmons Jodi Picoult Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: Show and Tell Understanding Electronic Publishing: Part I A Roundtable Discussion With Lois McMaster Bujold, Dave Duncan and Michael Swanwick Book Reviews Events Calendar Return to This Issue's Index Return to Homepage Subscribe
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Children's Book ReviewsPage One of TwoClara Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrated by Henry ColeHarperCollins, May, 2001Picture Books, 40 pages ISBN: 0060289953 Ages 4-8 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
All children love to find a caterpillar and watch it go through its
life cycle, and all children can relate to a story about feeling
sad when another child says something mean about one's
appearance. Pamela Duncan Edwards has told a sensitive
tale that uses these two themes in a very positive way. Written
almost as a fable, the story of the little cabbage caterpillar who
finds out that it is all right to be plain, and that one may be clever
while being plain is a tale that children will enjoy. Read this story
to a child and it will teach kindness along with acceptance and even
admiration of those who may not appear as good looking or talented
as others.
The story of Clara, the cream-colored cabbage caterpillar and her nemesis, Catisha, the beautiful red caterpillar who will grow into a beautiful red butterfly is a cautionary tale about the fact that those who may not seem like winners when very young, may actually become very successful. Ms. Edwards also teaches some important facts about nature. Camouflage is a more successful strategy against being eaten than beautiful color and an attractive appearance. The inspiring tale of Clara is enhanced by Henry Cole's large, beautiful close-ups of the tiny world of insects that takes place every day all around us. Mr. Cole's striking, brilliantly colored illustrations along with the cartoon like expressions on the faces of the creatures he paints create a vehicle that beautifully matches and enhances the story of the plain little caterpillar. Clara Caterpillar is a book that both parent and child will cherish because of the lessons that it teaches and the beauty of its illustrations . -- Sarah Reeves White Good Thing You're Not an Octopus by Julie Markes, Pictures by Maggie SmithHarperCollins, Feb., 2001Picture Book, 40 pages ISBN: 006028465X Ages 4-8 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
Good Thing You're Not an Octopus is an excellent book to pull
off the shelf when a child is feeling negative about the daily chores
of life, which include putting on one's clothes, brushing, one's teeth,
and taking a nap. It is a book that uses repetition of phrases
combined with ridiculous situations to make each point. The story
begins by comparing the trials of a little boy who only has to put
his two legs into two pant legs to an octopus who would have to
put eight legs into his pants. Likewise, a caterpillar would have to put
shoes on eighteen feet compared to a little boy who only has to put
shoes on two feet. And what child would not feel luckier than a baby
bear at nap time, when a baby bear has to nap all winter long? A shark
would have to brush two hundred teeth.
Maggie Smith draws comical illustrations of the little boy going through an entire day of things he does not really want to do. The illustrations are large, and show the different animals appearing in the child's own environment. A mother tiger is shown licking her cub to clean him up, while the little boy in the same room is sitting in his bathtub. Sitting beside the boy who is seated in his car seat is a baby kangaroo, who has to sit in his mother's pouch in the back seat of the family car. Since the baby animals are shown having the same problems right beside the little boy, this brings the situation into focus for the child. For those occasional days when a child feels negative about everything an adult wants him to do Good Thing You're Not an Octopus can bring a sense of humor into the situation and make things more pleasant for everyone. -- Sarah Reeves White Children's Book Reviews Page One | Page Two Return to Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of children's books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |