Emily Loves To Bounce - Hardcover

PreSchool-Emily is a single-minded child. Though readers are told that "Sometimes she sleeps" and "sometimes she eats," it's clear from both words and pictures that indeed "most of the time she bounces." Bright, energetic ink-and-watercolor illustrations show a smiling child dressed in stripes and polka dots in constant motion. The artwork focuses squarely on Emily, often including two or three smaller illustrations on each spread. Lots of white space around these pictures helps them to stand out even more. King's brief, rhyming, appropriately exuberant text catalogs and characterizes all the different ways Emily finds to bounce and where she does it. He describes the way she moves (high, low, springingly, and even singingly); what body part she uses; who she bounces with (whether it's her dinosaur or her Nana Pat, an unmentioned Teddy tags along on every bounce); and what she's pretending to be at the time. All of this activity does get tiring after a bit, even for Emily, who is shown on the final page snuggled cozily in bed. While this narrowly focused picture book might not stand up to repeated readings, most children will enjoy a glimpse into Emily's colorful, imaginative, and very active world. If you read it in storytime, don't be surprised if your listeners begin bouncing right along.
Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
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