From: mercier <cathryn.mercier>
Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 17:33:32 -0500

I appreciated Steven Engelfried's reading of Sophie Webb's picturebook-science journal. One of the things I most value about the book is its individual voice and the way in which that voice overtly addresses children as an audience. Webb never condescends to that audience, although clearly she makes effort to teach the child-reader something new. And, that voice comes across so clearly in details, such as noting how difficult it is to pee when one wears that layered winter snowsuit.

Ann Rider, editor of this book, also edited the recent Caldecott Award winner Snowflake Bentley. In my eyes, the two have much in common (besides snow) in their powerful graphic designs, fine sense of the page and the "drama of turning the page," and expressive color palettes.

Cathryn M. Mercier Center for the Study of Children's Literature Simmons College 300 The Fenway Boston, Massachusetts
Received on Wed 07 Mar 2001 04:33:32 PM CST