From: wendy lukehart <lukehart>
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 10:11:07 -0400

I have been an Anthony Browne fan since I first came across his illustrations for Sally Grindley's "Knock Knock! Who's There?" (Knopf, 1986). What I appreciate about this book is its visual humor, subtlety, understatement and interest. Browne achieved this in a book that is graphically and thematically simple enough to use in a storytime with toddlers, yet sustains the interest of older children, not to mention adults. (It's a bedtime story. Each time the girl hears a knock, she imagines a gorilla, or a witch, ghost, dragon, etc. at the door. The hall wallpaper changes accordingly, but each creature is wearing her father's bedroom slippers. Finally, dad appears, in slippers, with hot chocolate.) Who hasn't heard noises in the night and hoped it was something familiar, but feared otherwise? What a stimulating, but ultimately comforting portrayal. Since that encounter, I have looked forward to each new product of his imagination. Another favorite is
"Willy the Wizard" (Knopf, 1996), a sort of "field of dreams" for the juvenile soccer set. Words that come to mind about Browne: fresh, stimulating, in-tune with the human condition--and not inhibited about sharing his understanding with children. I value this greatly.

Wendy Lukehart Youth Services Coordinator Dauphin County Library System Harrisburg, PA
Received on Fri 23 Jun 2000 09:11:07 AM CDT