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Synopsis
Opposite the simple declarative sentence, "Walter was worried" is a portrait of a very worried Walter. But wait! The letters that spell out his feelings form his facial characteristics, as well as his expression. Gradually a simple story unfolds: the sky grows dark, the fog rolls in, lightning lights the sky, and thunder shakes the trees; Priscilla was puzzled, Shirley was shocked, Frederick was frightened... and eventually (when the sun came out) Henry was hopeful, and Elliot ecstatic.
Child Magazine
Kids' reactions to a passing thunderstorm set the stage for a smart, alphabet-based game of I Spy. "Walter was worried when the sky grew dark," reads the text. Accompanying the alliterative language is a brightly painted portrait of the boy's face, his facial features crafted from the letters in the word worried. Indeed he is the picture of concern, his mouth a sideways D and raised eyebrows suggested by two tilted r's. Walter's friends further the tale ("Frederick was frightened" of thunder, for example). In the end, all ends well and "Elliot was ecstatic when the sun came out." (ages 4 to 6)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005