May review in SLJ of What's Looking at You, Kid?

LEWIS, J. Patrick. What’s Looking at You, Kid? illus. by Renée Graef. 32p. Sleeping Bear. 2012. ISBN 978-1-58536-793-1. LC 2011032088.

PreS-Gr 1–In this picture book, Lewis invites children to look at the natural world. On each spread, readers are given clues to an animal or insect in the wild.  Some are verbal and some are pictorial. For example, a rhyme about fireflies reads, “Have you ever touched a star?/This one wasn’t very far./Look who’s in a jelly jar,” but the one about the caterpillar reads, “A truck carries a heavy load./A car does not like being towed./Look who else can cross the road.” Viewers must look to the illustration for the verse to make any sense. The volume ends with all of the creatures coming together to read a book. Lewis uses rhyme, meter, and alliteration to paint fun and fanciful images such as dragonflies with “whizzing wings of windowpanes.” Graef’s cheerful, child-friendly illustrations complement the light mood of the selections. The text is incorporated into the illustrations in a large, colored font that floats around and through the scenes. The bold type, playful pictures, and rhyming text make this a good choice for one-on-one sharing.–Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT