Fiction - Animals, Children - Fiction & Literature, Children - Poetry

And Here's to You!

Name: And Here's to You!
Author: David Elliott
ISBN: 9780763641269

by David Elliott, Randy Cecil

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Overview

Here’s to exuberant read-alouds! This picture book ode to joy invites us to celebrate the world’s vast diversity — and feel pretty happy with our place in it, too.

Here’s to the birds!
The Feather People!
Birds!

Here’s to the birds and the bears and the bugs! Here’s to the weird and wacky, the cute and creepy! From toothy fish to let-you-when-you’re-sleeping cats to lick-lick-lick-lick-lick-lick dogs, every creature is unique and lovable . . . especially you! The infectious joy of David Elliott’s wonderful read-aloud poem and Randy Cecil’s brilliant, amusing artwork is sure to have children reciting along.

A rhyming celebration of all sorts of creatures, from the Feather People (birds) to the Dreaming People (dogs) and even the People People.

Synopsis

Here’s to exuberant read-alouds! This picture book ode to joy invites us to celebrate the world’s vast diversity — and feel pretty happy with our place in it, too.

Here’s to the birds!
The Feather People!
Birds!

Dr. Judy Rowen - Children's Literature

A celebration of diversity as expressed through a child's paean to different types of animals, this book has bright, cheerful full-page illustrations. From birds ("Here's to the who-o-o ones, the cock-a-doodle-doo ones, their breasts as red as fire ones, the sitting on the wire ones") to bugs (the "wing-y ones" and the "sting-y ones") to cows and people, different children sing the praises of their favorites. When the text moves to people, the verse is a little more awkward: "And here's to you! The You Person! You!" In the illustration, the people are just standing around in a wooded glade rather than demonstrating the attributes described ("Here's to the sweet you, the messy and the neat you, the funny-way-you-eat you"), so they are much less interesting than the other animals depicted earlier in the book. 2004, Candlewick, Ages 3 to 6.

About the Author, David Elliott

David Elliott is the author of THE COOL CRAZY CRICKETS and THE TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF ROSCOE WIZZLE. He says of AND HERE'S TO YOU!, "My neighbor’s rooster and I were having a disagreement. I wanted to sleep in the morning; he wanted to crow. The rooster won, of course. The first verse of AND HERE'S TO YOU! is a tribute to his victory and to the joys found in simply following your nature."

Randy Cecil is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and has illustrated many books for children, including ONE IS A SNAIL, TEN IS A CRAB by April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre. Of AND HERE'S TO YOU!, he says, "It’s about time that the eels and wasps got to join in on the fun with the bears and kittens!"

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Editorials

Children's Literature

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-A life-affirming look at nature's beings. The lively, rhyming text celebrates different creatures, including "The Feather People" (birds), "The Bubble People" (fish), "The Leggy People" (bugs), "The Purring People" (cats), "The Giving People" (cows), and "The People People" (humans). Finally, the focus is placed on readers: "And here's to you!/The You Person!/You!/Here's to the sweet you,/The messy and the neat you,/The funny-way-you-eat you-. The total and complete you." The effervescent, entertaining cartoons, done in oils, perfectly complement the narrative. Together, the words and pictures create a powerful package that conveys a sense of appreciation for all living things.-Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Elliott's cup runneth over with good cheer in this rhymed toast to people-and not just the two-legged variety, either: "Here's to the birds! / The Feather People! / Birds! / Here's to the who-o-o ones, / The cock-a-doodle-doo ones, / Their breasts as red as fire ones, / The sitting on a wire ones. / Oh, I love the birds!" Each verse follows the same pattern, as he goes on to salute fish ("The Bubble People"), bears ("The Hungry People"), bugs, cats, dogs, cows, and frogs in turn, coming around at last to "The People People," and closing with "The You Person! / You!" Cecil's full-bleed illustrations reflect all this unfettered exuberance, with bright cartoon scenes of grinning young folk surrounded by animals and placed in outdoorsy settings. Reminiscent of Flora McDonnell's I Love Animals (1994) for its intensity of feeling, but more articulate in its expression, this will have young readers and listeners calling for another round. (Picture book. 6-8)