School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A rabbit comes upon a book lying abandoned in the forest and turns it into a makeshift shelter. A growly bear spies it and wants to use it as a hat. Some mice decide it will make a perfect table and a fox turns it into a bed. When a child comes along, he recognizes the object with delight, sits down, and begins to read aloud. The animals gather round to listen, and the story turns out to be about a rabbit, a bear, some mice, etc. All agree it is a wonderful book. The story is simple, but could lead to a discussion of things intended for one purpose that could be used for another. Gore's watercolor and ink illustrations are simple but subtle and will have broad appeal. Roger Duvoisin's Petunia (Knopf, 1950) still stands as the classic for children to understand what books are really for, but its slightly longer and more complex plot requires a somewhat older audience.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Internet is rife with alternative uses for books, instructions on how to convert them into furniture, artwork-even bookshelves. The woodland animals in Gore's (When I Grow Up) story are on the same track. Rendered in watercolor and ink on textured paper, Gore's illustrations feature earth tones and an expressive cast. A scarlet book is first discovered by a rabbit, who decides it will make "a cozy little house." With the book propped up like a tent, he curls up underneath-until a bear confiscates it, growling, "That's mine! It will make a pretty hat for me!" The book becomes a table for mice and a bed for a fox, before a boy puts it to more traditional use, as the animals gather ("[H]e read about a little rabbit and a big grumpy bear. He read about some hungry mice and a tired little fox"). Children will enjoy lording their knowledge of the "correct" use of a book over the characters, and although Gore suggests the conventional method is best, the story raises the question: what else might a book be? Ages 3-6. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
