Going Home - Hardcover

Ages 3-6. Hugo's in a hospital overlooking the zoo. He's feeling better and longs to go home. Meanwhile, he hears the elephant shrieking to him, "Come, come home with me." So Hugo puts on his slippers and rides on the elephant to the African grassland; then a howler monkey takes Hugo to the Amazon jungle; and a snow leopard carries him high into the Himalayas. Each imaginary excursion is rooted in daily life. When his family visits each night, Hugo tells them where he's been: his mother is thrilled for him; his little sister is jealous ("I only went to the park," she says). As always, Wild gets right into the child's world, both the physical and the imaginative. Harris' brightly detailed, dramatic acrylic paintings fuse fantasy and reality in a way that seems totally natural. When Hugo stares out the window, the picture tilts as if he's flying. The wild animals are fiercely realistic, even as they carry the boy in his pajamas to faraway places. This is a fine example of the way picture books today transcend the old stereotypes. The doctor's a woman; the nurse is a man; the happy family is headed by a single parent; the cast is multicultural. Forget sneers of P.C. This is a good story about people like us. Hazel Rochman

PreSchool-Grade 1-A positive example of the use of fantasy for healing and solace. Hugo is bored in the hospital and anxious to go home. Hearing the noises of the animals in the nearby zoo, he starts daydreaming. On successive days, he thinks he hears first an elephant, then a howler monkey, and finally a snow leopard calling him to "come home" with them. After each imaginary trip, his family visits and he tells them where he went, much to the envy of his little sister. When he is released, he tells his friends in the ward the secret of his journeys, and they continue to take them. Harris has created lush acrylic paintings for Wild's text. The realistic scenes have plenty of white space on each page, but the animal adventures seem to burst from the double-page spreads that completely fill the pages. A pleasing choice for story hour and an alternative to the "how a hospital works" genre for children facing or experiencing hospitalization.
Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
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