The Wonderful Happens

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I picked up this book because the cover looked appealing, and I was intrigued about what this book may be about. I started reading it, and I was really quite impressed. I was starting to get notions in my head about using this book for storytime at work or donating it to my elementary school, but kept reading and changed my mind.

Rylant evokes a great sense of the wonderful in the "ordinary". Little thing which we so often take for granted. I loved that about this book. However, I was really put off about how she tried to tie that in with the child's own being. I didn't like how she made it sound like "then one day, YOU happened", (just like a flower blooming!) because there IS a great difference, in my eyes, in a child being born and a loaf of bread being made.

It could have been really wonderful, but this analogy left me with a bad feeling in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Such a great start, but in the end, a disappointment..
Review: I picked up this book because the cover looked appealing, and I was intrigued about what this book may be about. I started reading it, and I was really quite impressed. I was starting to get notions in my head about using this book for storytime at work or donating it to my elementary school, but kept reading and changed my mind.

Rylant evokes a great sense of the wonderful in the "ordinary". Little thing which we so often take for granted. I loved that about this book. However, I was really put off about how she tried to tie that in with the child's own being. I didn't like how she made it sound like "then one day, YOU happened", (just like a flower blooming!) because there IS a great difference, in my eyes, in a child being born and a loaf of bread being made.

It could have been really wonderful, but this analogy left me with a bad feeling in the end.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: This book was brought to my Children's Literature class and praised by everyone. At least three of us cried at the beauty of the language. The ending grabbed all of us. How beautiful for a child to read that he or she is wonderful just like the the trees, rain and birds. The clever use of borders, lines and space were praised by the professor. Contrary to the previous reviewer, we found the book delightful.

Rating:
Summary: The Next "Good Night Moon"
Review: This charming picture book makes the connection between how the everyday objects in our lives begin, including us, and then evolve into a final product. For example wheat grows in a field, becomes flour, and then bread.It explains that in the beginning there was no you but then you happened and will grow just like everything else. It beautifully answers many questions children are apt to have about the how and why of things. The illustrations are charmingly filled with birds, animals, flowers, snowmen, all things that would delight a young child. This book could become the next "Good Night Moon."

Rating:
Summary: The Next "Good Night Moon"
Review: What a charming book to introduce the young child to the concept of birth. "The Wonderful Happens" is beautifully illustrated by Coco Dowley and the point of the book shows to a young child the simple beauty and wonder of nature unfolding. I highly recommend this book for reading and sharing with a 3-5 year old child.