SLITHER SLIDE, WHAT'S OUTSIDE?

Similar to Hilb’s Wiggle Giggle Tickle Train (with co-author Sharon Jennings and photographer Marcela Cabezas Hilb, 2009), this imaginative romp shows kids using nature to fuel their creative play through all the seasons of the year.

Left-hand pages feature beautiful stock photos of (mostly) nature that encompass the four seasons—a blossoming tree, rainfall, a growing pumpkin and a snowplow at work are among the 13. Right-hand pages showcase Hilb’s watercolors of children patterning their play after nature. A photo of a frog appears opposite two children jumping over a log, a rainbow prompts a coloring session and some geese flying overhead lead the children to use toy horns to copy their calls. But it is the addition of the Shapiros’ rollicking verses that truly make this an all-around enjoyable collaboration. The waterfall spread is a standout, the children pouring water from a large bucket into a smaller one on the ground: “Slosh from the big one / into the small. / Whooshing and sloshing—your own waterfall. / SPLASH!”  Rhythm and rhyme are spot-on, and the bouncy verses and onomatopoetic words are sure to catch and hold listeners’ attention. The combination of rhyme, simple vocabulary, bright colors, white backgrounds and simple details suits this beautifully for the preschool set. Hilb’s trademark style is definitely in evidence here—the pages are populated by adorable rosy-cheeked and ethnically diverse children engaged in the business of play.

Yet another spark for young imaginations.