Something to Do - Hardcover

David Lucas lives in England.

PreSchool-K—In this charming, gentle story, a little bear is seeking something to do. Walking along a beach, he and his adult companion find a stick. As they use it to draw in the sand, their lines become ladders to imaginary adventures. Short, repetitive sentences in a conversational style make the story an excellent choice for reading aloud. Clean, uncluttered compositions and a soft color palette underscore its simplicity and tenderness. The grainy texture of the line illustrations evokes images of children's crayon drawings. Brick-red and gray-blue are the primary colors, while touches of bright pink, green, and yellow light up a starry sky. These splashes of color add contrast to the more subdued background as they convey the joys of stargazing. In both style and storyline Something recalls Crockett Johnson's classic Harold and the Purple Crayon (HarperCollins, 1955). Both elegant and pleasing, this picture book is a standout.—Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY END