GOODNESS GRACIOUS!

by Phil Cummings ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1992

Goodness gracious! Look at my faces! scary starey BOLD or hairy"" begins this exploration of a child's many imaginative guises. The faces that the red-haired moppet is seen pulling on the first page take shape on a group of characters who romp with her through the illustrations, each following her lead in a role adapted to suit possibilities introduced in the catchy verse. A witch, an owl, and a pirate are joined by a dapper dog with a palette and brush, a sinuous cat, and even a flamboyant mandrill as the brash kid gleefully calls attention to herself (""North and south, look at my mouth! crabby pouty dribbly SHOUTY""), cavorting as she flourishes her legs (""short long bristly strong"") and gathering for a final portrait (""look at meee...eeee! TA-DAH!""). The freestyle illustrations are as full of playful energy as the exuberant showoff, soaring across the airy white space like new ideas on a fresh page. A delightfully creative expansion of a truly childlike activity, this should inspire young readers to make up more rhymes in the same pattern--and perhaps to ""illustrate"" them with dramatic play.

Pub Date: March 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992

Categories: CHILDREN'S