- Story
- Illustrations
- Format/Quality
- Originality
- Read-Aloudability
Rise and Shine
Kidsbooks
illustrations by Mary Melcher
This book has is a poem that spans the length of the book. As I read it I felt as though the sun was the narrator and all of the creatures on the farm were listening carefully as the sun recited the verse. The opening page is early morning with just a small crescent of sun on the horizon. A rooster is perched on a wooden fence getting ready to sing his early morning song. As the sun rises higher in the sky various animals are roused from sleep. A dog, a cat, goats, a butterfly, pigs, ducks, a cow and some sheep are other members of the story. As the sun is highest in the sky we are shown a collective scene of all of the animals getting ready to start their day. There is even on little pig laying down still a bit drowsy from the evening rest.
The art is beautiful and bright with the light starting off subdued and ending as bright as can be. The warm smile and kind eyes on the sun will appeal to little viewers as they look on as mom and dad read to them. A read aloud tip to parents would be to point to the animals as they are featured and make the noises that they make. Children will love to hear you and may even imitate you.
On the back cover of the book is a little bird sitting on the bar code. There is a thought bubble that says, “Find me inside!” This creates an additional adventure for little ones as they go on the hunt for the little bird in the book. This book is a lot of fun and is unique in that not many books start out early in the morning to begin the day.I recommend it for ages birth to 5.
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