Kirkus Reviews QR Code
IF I CROSSED THE ROAD by Stephen  Kroninger

IF I CROSSED THE ROAD

by Stephen Kroninger & illustrated by Stephen Kroninger

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-81190-X
Publisher: Atheneum

Wacky collages visualize a young boy's daydreams of what he'd do if he were allowed to cross the street. No wonder he wants to go to the other side: There's a basketball game, a park to ride his bike through, and an old cowhand-grandfather to visit out on the range. A fishing trip, a jungle expedition, and a rocket ride to the moon for ice cream also await him, but the culmination of his journey to greener grass would be a visit to his friend. The elementary plot is really only an excuse for Kroninger's loud, deliberately zany collages, made of magazine photographs and colored paper. A cross-section of the ocean revealing a multitude of fish works perfectly; a cityscape breaks with the well-composed simplicity of the previous spreads with a garish, in-your-face flamboyance that is at odds with the boy's other wishes. (Picture book. 3-8)