About the Holiday
Do you ever walk into a bookstore or library and wish you could read all the new books on the shelves? Me too! This month’s holiday encourages readers to get out there (or in there!) and search for some new books to take home and read, read, read!
Small
By Gina Perry
A little—and I mean little—girl is out and about in the big—and I mean big—city. All around her are buildings, people, and trees that seem to emphasize her smallness. Standing next to the “wide street. Tall buildings,” she thinks, “I look small.” Compared to the “noisy cars. Speeding bikes,” she even walks small.
Copyright Gina Perry, 2017, courtesy of simonandschuster.com
While buying and eating lunch, the little girl is surrounded by more examples of how tiny she really is. Even the ducks at the pond appear bigger than she is with their oversized QUACK! QUACK! Yes, says the girl as she abandons her “huge food” to the gobbling ducks, “I am small.”
Copyright Gina Perry, 2017, courtesy of simonandschuster.com
But…in the park she spies a tall slide and with determination climbs the high ladder. At the top and with a Whoosh!, she suddenly says, “I feel big because I can fly.” Down on the blacktop with her colorful chalk, she becomes an artist capable of expressing her big dreams. On the basketball court, she barely comes up to the teenagers’ knees, but, still, the ball she throws rises to the net. “I play big because I am fierce,” she explains.
Copyright Gina Perry, 2017, courtesy of simonandschuster.com
When she’s happy, the little girl’s voice rings through the air, and her bravery allows her to swing through it too. She brings her mom flowers because her heart overflows with love, and when she’s just tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel, she soars over the city because she is “BIG!”
Copyright Gina Perry, 2017, courtesy of simonandschuster.com
Gina Perry zeroes in on what it means to be a child surrounded by bigness in her profound and encouraging book that shows young readers that size is not only measured in outward ways, but in the intensity of one’s heart, dreams, personality, and self-confidence. Through visual juxtapositions that kids will recognize and appreciate, Perry demonstrates the various meanings of “small” and “big” that influence a child’s thinking and feelings. When the little girl approaches the slide, however, her perspective changes, allowing her and readers to soar.
Copyright Gina Perry, 2017, courtesy of simonandschuster.com
Perry’s distinctive illustrations are full of humor and a very welcome cast of diverse characters. Children will love lingering over each page to talk about the ideas of big and small, long and short, wide and tall and the less-concrete ideas of “bigness” of thought and action. Kids will also like following the yellow butterfly that keeps the little girl company from spread to spread.
Small is a wonderful book to give as a gift or to add to home libraries. It also makes a great discussion starter in classrooms, which are full of children in various stages of growth.
Ages 4 – 8
little bee books, 2017 | ISBN 978-1499804010
Discover more about Gina Perry, her books and her art on her website!
Read a New Book Month Activity
A Taaalll Stack of Books Coloring Page
One new book is great, but a whole stack of new books? Fantastic! Have fun coloring this printable Taaalll Stack of Books Coloring Page and then enjoy reading a new book!
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 