Synopsis
A rhyming review of some basic safety tips.
Candice Ransom - Children's Literature
"Sit using scissors, or you might get hurt" begins this Level C "Rookie Reader." Rhyming stanzas advise kids to wash their hands, avoid eating wild berries or siting in wet paint. In soft pastel and pencil illustrations, multi-ethnic children clutch adults' hands, climb trees carefully, sit correctly in chairs, tie their shoes, wear bike helmets, and buckle their seatbelts. The cautionary advice blends perfectly with the muted art. The rhythm bobbles only once: "Zip up your coat, or you might start to cough." The beat is on target in this line, but some of the flow is lost in the extraneous "might start." A minor quibble. The overall message shifts the text's emphasis away from "don't do this" to an upbeat ending: "Always be safe in whatever you do./Nothing is quite as important as you." This is an important book for a library or homeschool collection. 2003, Children's Press/Scholastic,