LOOK SEE, LOOK AT ME!

A joyful celebration of a toddler’s new capabilities. A little boy proudly proclaims all the things he can do since he’s turned three. He jumps, hops, wiggles, cuddles, giggles, climbs and crows from an adult’s shoulders: “See, I’m bigger, I’m high as can be, / I’m so much bigger now I’m three.” The text could describe a child from almost any culture or country, but the pictures clearly set the story in an aboriginal community in Australia. Rich reds and browns dominate the dynamic illustrations created with pastels on colored paper. For the most part, the landscape is sparse, populated by only a few buildings and scattered trees in the background. Foregrounded is a community in which children actively explore an expansive natural world while supportive adults lend them an occasional hand and scoop them in for cuddles. Pair this with I Can Do It Too, by Karen Baicker and illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max (2003), or I Can Do It Myself!, by Diane Adams and illustrated by Nancy Hayashi (2009), for a triple celebration of toddlers’ and preschoolers’ increasing independence. (Picture book. 2-4)