  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 06/01/2014 PreS-Gr 3—Using watercolor and colored pencils, Colón has created a wordless book (based on his childhood) that speaks volumes. A boy, home for the day perhaps because of an illness, sits on his bed reading a book about Africa. He begins to draw. Five identical, intensely colored pictures of the boy with an easel, art supplies, and a pit helmet increase in size as readers begin this richly imagined day on a safari. He draws an elephant as an egret watches, and atop the elephant's back, the boy and bird find a herd of zebras. They pose for him as he sits on a stump. Giraffes thunder by, raising clouds of golden dust. The boy draws them, his body aslant as his eyes follow them. He draws a gorilla, who holds his helmet and shares his sandwich. He draws lions, a water buffalo, and a hippo before sighting a charging rhinoceros. Running with all his might, he barely escapes the rhino. Baboons retrieve his pencils, set up his easel, and draw him. They also eat his sandwiches as the day slides into evening. A spread poignantly captures the parting of boy and elephant. Eyes closed, he lays his head against his friend's side while the elephant's trunk gently caresses the boy's cheek. As six identical paintings decrease in size, the book returns to the boy's pale room, now strewn with drawings. The final scene shows the boy at school, holding the elephant's picture front and center. The pleasure the boy takes in making and sharing his art is palpable. Young artists will love this book, as will all children who know the joy of exploring their own imaginations. A must-have for every library.—Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. School Library Journal - 02/01/2017 PreS-Gr 3—Based on the Afro-Puerto Rican artist's childhood, beloved and award-winning illustrator Colón's wordless work, created with watercolor and colored pencils, depicts a sickly boy who uses his creativity to escape the confines of his bed. Traveling through his drawings to Africa, the boy makes friends with the animals he encounters. - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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