Picture My World. Séverine Cordier & Cynthia Lacroix. Toronto, ON: Owlkids Books, 2012. 92 pp., hardcover, $16.95. ISBN 978-1-926973-56-2. Subject Headings: Vocabulary-Juvenile literature. Word recognition-Juvenile literature. Preschool / Ages 2-4. Review by Harriet Zaidman. **** /4

Picture My World is a lovely book for small children. It follows three siblings who experience the highs and lows of their busy lives. It's a fine accompaniment to Picture My Day, (Vol. XVIII, No. 36, May 18, 2012) a teaching tool about the details a toddler encounters from sunup to sundown.

     Unlike its predecessor, Picture My World does not contain precisely labelled objects to explain what a child sees and touches. Instead, French writer Sérevine Cordier records activities such as 'At the pool,' where children exhilarate in the physicality and joy that water offers, and 'Where could it be?' when a child feels loss in the form of a beloved possession and friend. Illustrator Cynthia Lacroix, also from France, creates pen and ink and watercolour illustrations that capture the essence of the experiences. The emotions on the children's faces are suggestive, subtly drawn, but no less evocative.

      Cordier covers the gamut of activities a growing child's experiences, including spying on adult conversations, a bubble of gum exploding all over one child's face (only to be mocked by a younger sister) and the potential that lays ahead when school lets out for the summer. Selfishness, sharing, greed, love, grief, hope – young children growing up learn about what an adult faces. Cordier's choices of experiences and Lacroix's renderings can ease a child into the world of more complicated issues and relationships. Hopefully the child will be steeled for the next stages of life, and, at the same time, be more accepting.

      Picture My World is a great conversation starter for adult and child, a pretty book for a child to 'read' and compare to his or her own routine. Its 6" x 8" size is easy to hold, its semi-stiff pages will stand the crumple test small fingers can put paper to. It will make a great gift for the pre-reading set.

Highly Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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