Overview
A little green hummingbird is flying through a sunny garden, leaving apath for sharp eyes to follow. An artist is watching-and painting what he sees! With a playful, rhyming text and vibrant collage illustrations, Keith Baker captures all the energy and excitement of a hummingbird's flight in this engaging picture book just right for young readers and artists. 11 X 9. separate
Author Biography: KEITH BAKER is the creator of many acclaimed picture books, including Who Is the Beast?, Hide and Snake, and most recently, Quack and Count. He enjoys watching all the birds that visit his little green garden in Seattle, Washington.
A young boy paints the flight of a hummingbird as it zips, loops, and zigzags around his garden.
Synopsis
Explore colors and patterns with a zipping hummingbird in a new board book of a Keith Baker favorite!
Publishers Weekly
The ruby-throated hummingbird takes center stage in Baker's (Quack and Count) gorgeous full-bleed spreads of cut- paper collage. "Little Green" is the nickname given the bird by the narrator, an aspiring young artist who raptly follows the flitting creature from his desk by an open window: "I see you out there, Little Green/ In the flowers and between,/ Zipping round and round and round,/ Jigging, jagging, down up down." For much of the book, however, Baker leaves the painter behind, concentrating instead on the graceful bird as it siphons nectar from the flowers or quenches its thirst with a single drop of water from a garden hose. The collages glow with a lovely translucence that captures the feel of a sunlit garden and the evanescence of the hummingbird's mesmerizing movements (a few swift strokes of white telegraph the rapid beating of the bird's emerald wings). Subtle touches prove that Baker knows his audience: a caterpillar appears in every illustration, and the hero's brushstrokes record the bird's flight patterns. In the final pages, Baker gives his narrator a reward: the bird hovers right outside the window, pausing long enough to discern that the protagonist's scarlet paintbrush is not another flower. The fellow covers his mouth in amazement, but his wide-eyed look speaks volumes about the thrill of being so close to one of nature's wonders. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Speaks volumes about the thrill of being so close to one of nature's wonders."—Publishers Weekly"Not only a fun book about gardens and hummingbirds, but a license for children to create untraditional art."—Boston Herald
"Baker's illustrations are a treat."—The Seattle Times
Parenting magazine -
"Lyrical read-aloud rhymes and rainbow-bright collages ...capture your child's delight in the little things."Publishers Weekly -
The ruby-throated hummingbird takes center stage in Baker's (Quack and Count) gorgeous full-bleed spreads of cut- paper collage. "Little Green" is the nickname given the bird by the narrator, an aspiring young artist who raptly follows the flitting creature from his desk by an open window: "I see you out there, Little Green/ In the flowers and between,/ Zipping round and round and round,/ Jigging, jagging, down up down." For much of the book, however, Baker leaves the painter behind, concentrating instead on the graceful bird as it siphons nectar from the flowers or quenches its thirst with a single drop of water from a garden hose. The collages glow with a lovely translucence that captures the feel of a sunlit garden and the evanescence of the hummingbird's mesmerizing movements (a few swift strokes of white telegraph the rapid beating of the bird's emerald wings). Subtle touches prove that Baker knows his audience: a caterpillar appears in every illustration, and the hero's brushstrokes record the bird's flight patterns. In the final pages, Baker gives his narrator a reward: the bird hovers right outside the window, pausing long enough to discern that the protagonist's scarlet paintbrush is not another flower. The fellow covers his mouth in amazement, but his wide-eyed look speaks volumes about the thrill of being so close to one of nature's wonders. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.Parenting magazine
"Lyrical read-aloud rhymes and rainbow-bright collages ...capture your child's delight in the little things." —Keith BakerChildren's Literature
A bright green and red hummingbird named Little Green is the star of this board book; although sharp-eyed kids will also find the little caterpillar hidden in most of the pictures. Young ones not familiar with these amazing birds will learn that they dart about at great speed and rarely take a straight path. Hummingbirds have another unusual skill, they can hover. The young boy watching Little Green seems to be drawing, but it is not until the very end that we see his interpretation of the hummingbird's antics. There is a lot to enjoy in the brightly colored illustrations and a white stroke on the page shows Little Green's peripatetic path through the flower garden and in the sky. 2005 (orig. 2001), Red Wagon Books/Harcourt, Ages 6 mo. to 3.—Marilyn Courtot
School Library Journal
PreS-A boy with paints, paper, and a paintbrush in hand watches a small green hummingbird as it darts here and there, drinking nectar from the flowers outside his window. The rhyming text describes the hummingbird's journey in a few brief words. At the end, the boy says, "I wonder if you see me, too? Well, I've been busy watching you-And painting how you flew and flew!" The last illustration shows the boy's canvas, with curlicues and jagged lines and loops representing the bird's flight. Baker is an interesting and inspired artist who employs varied techniques in his work. Here, he has used colorful cut-paper collage in a style somewhat reminiscent of the work of Denise Fleming. In addition to the frenetic motion of Little Green, a tiny caterpillar also appears on each spread, observing the proceedings. The end result is a bright and beautiful book with a rather slight story. Libraries that can use a striking book on hummingbirds should definitely consider it. It also might provide some impetus to beginning artists, but it is not an essential purchase.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.Child Magazine
A Child Magazine Best Book of 2001 PickJewel-toned cut-paper collages serve up a sumptuous feast for the eyes as a young artist tries to capture a hummingbird's erratic flight ("stopping, starting, dashing, darting, zigging, zagging everywhere") on paper.