Marilyn Singer
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 7 to 10
Clarion Books, 2012, 978-0-547-12493-3
Many children associate the word “playing” with TV
screens, computer monitors, and hand held gaming devices. They no longer equate
playing with being outdoors. Thankfully, many people, including parents and
teachers, are eager to get children outside again so that they can have a more
active lifestyle that encourages them to interact with other children.
In this splendid collection of poems Marilyn
Singer celebrates a wide variety of outdoor activities. Some of the poems
describe are games such as hopscotch and monkey in the middl;e. In the poem Hide-And-Seek we hear from the hider,
who stands “here oh so still” pretending that he is in Brazil “where lots of
birds fly free.” Then we hear from the little girl seeker who is convinced that
the hider hasn’t “got a prayer” because she’s “just too good at seeking.”
Other poems look
at doings that are less ordered and more free-flowing. Playing in the sprinkler
is just such an activity. We see how children use their imaginations so that a
stick can be a scepter or a magic wand. Even a bucket can be the center of
interest when becomes a pot for making soup. Children toss grass, stones, mud,
cheese, a celery stalk, an old cigar, and a piece of chalk into the pot, give
it a stir, and “then throw it out and start again.”
With wonderful
poems that are paired with vibrant illustrations, this book perfectly captures
the joy that children experience when they spend time outdoors playing in the
sun or under the stars.
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