Another Important Book

by Margaret Wise Brown, Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Overview

The never-before-published companion to one of the most beloved children's books of all time, "The Important Book, " originally published in 1949, "Another Important Book" offers an invitation to find out exactly what's so important about some of the important ages of a child's life. Full color.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060262822
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/22/1999
Series:	Joanna Cotler Bks.
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	522,954
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Lexile:	AD430L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown, cherished for her unique ability to convey a child’s experience and perspective of the world, transformed the landscape of children’s literature with such beloved classics as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Other perennial favorites by Ms. Brown include My World; Christmas in the Barn; The Dead Bird; North, South, East, West; and Good Day, Good Night.

Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals—one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation five times. He lives in New York City with his family.

Date of Birth:

May 23, 1910

Date of Death:

November 13, 1952

Place of Birth:

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Place of Death:

Nice, France

Education:

B.A., Hollins College, 1932; Bank Street College of Education

Website:

http://www.margaretwisebrown.com

Editorial Reviews

(Preschool)
Fifty years after the appearance of Margaret Wise Brown's Important Book (illustrated by Leonard Weisgard), a never-before-published companion volume has arrived. Brown's text begins with one: "The important thing / about being One / is that life / has just begun. / You can't quite talk. / You can't quite walk. / You've found your nose / and discovered your toes...." Brown is, as always, conscious of child development: two is a doer, three learns about "being me," four has grown in both size and accomplishments. Chris Raschka explicates the underlying complexity of Brown's simple-seeming statements in illustrations that pay deliberate tribute to her earlier illustrators. His graphic approach to form and composition recalls Weisgard's illustrations for The Noisy Book; his saturated palette echoes the tonal balance of Clement Hurd's Goodnight Moon; his vigorously drawn figures outdo Jean Charlot (A Child's Good Night Book). Most intriguing is Raschka's use of geometrical forms to represent the increasing complexity of the small child's understanding and capabilities. Like translucent, multi-colored blocks and balls-simple toys that become imbued with meaning and purpose in the child's imagination-these shapes interact with the vibrantly sketched figures of the children. One has a basic circle-the sun and moon mentioned in the text, the child still wrapped in the cocoon of babyhood. For two, squares-blocks to stack, steps to the many actions of the busy toddler, which Brown lists in a string of verbs. Three, like one, a circle, but larger now, and formed from three concentric circles: "Me" in the context of a larger world. Again, four elaborates on two: the square is quartered diagonally, the resulting triangles open like doors, and then they reform, like a tangram. And so on. There's a spread that's a grand concatenation of all ages and shapes together; a winding-down backwards count; and then the inevitable conclusion: "But the important thing...is that you are YOU." More on-target developmentally than poetically; but Raschka's illustrations are innovative, intriguing, and brimming with vitality. j.r.l.

Horn Book Magazine

While Brown's 1949 title, The Important Book, described the essential qualities of the familiar things in a child's world, this never-before-published companion addresses the developing characteristics of children themselves. As Brown leads readers through the ages of one to six in a series of jaunty rhymes ("The important thing about being Four/ is that you are bigger than you were before"), Raschka (Like Likes Like) emerges with a series of images whose fluid lines, simple geometric structure and concisely edited palette bring to mind the Bauhaus School. A master at conveying motion with a simple sweep of his watercolor brush, he launches a succession of sprightly imps to cavort against backdrops of mustard yellow, brick red and Prussian blue. For the progression from chubby babies ("You've found your nose/ and discovered your toes./ You've seen the moon/ and felt the sun") to agile kindergartners ("You learn how to count./ You learn how to read./ You know how to dress/ and get what you need"), Raschka assigns each age group a geometric shape: a simple circle represents age one, pairs of stacked squares indicate two, a five-pointed star signifies five and so on. All the forms blend together in visual harmony for the sweeping finale. It's a pleasure to hear the organic rhythms of Brown's prose again, and Raschka paints in boisterous surprises. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"In this companion to The Important Book, Brown addresses the developing characteristics of children, in a series of jaunty rhymes," PW said in a starred review. "Raschka paints in boisterous surprises." Ages 6 mos.-5 yrs. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K-Energetic artwork and vivacious verse delineate the wonders children discover and the milestones they reach, from ages one to six. A joyful book with a timeless theme. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

PreS-K In comforting language and perfect rhyme, this previously unpublished companion to Brown's classic The Important Book (HarperCollins, 1949) identifies significant achievements and developments, year by year, in a young child's life. Using the second person, the text addresses youngsters directly, succinctly describing a one-year-old: "You can't quite talk./You can't quite walk./You've found your nose/and discovered your toes." The excitement of being two revolves around all the new things "you can do." Being three means discovering "ME." Questions are presented in a circular pattern around tricolored circles, emphasizing the newfound joy of self-awareness. For each age group, there is a corresponding number of geometric shapes. For example, a page describing four-year-olds shows a wide-eyed child surrounded by four triangles. Raschka has done a lovely job of creating illustrations that capture the look and feel of books published during Brown's era. The pictures show children joyfully testing new abilities. The last page offers the same delightful affirmation as its predecessor the important thing "is that you are you." Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Raschka (Like Likes Like, p. 304, etc.) illustrates this previously unpublished companion to the recently reissued The Important Book (1999) with page after page of wriggly children rendered in looping, calligraphic black strokes and freely brushed color. Adopting an assured tone, Brown tracks the development of a child's capabilities and sense of self: "You can't quite talk./You can't quite walk./You've found your nose/and discovered your toes./You've seen the moon/and felt the sun./But the important thing about being One is that life has just begun." Her text takes children to age six; by alternating pictures of single children with group scenes, Raschka expands the author's focus on the individual to make growing up a social as well as personal experience. Think of this as a free-spirited alternative to Robert Kraus's Leo the Late Bloomer (1973) and its blatantly commercial reprise, Little Louie the Baby Bloomer (1998, not reviewed). (Picture book. 1-6)

Kirkus Reviews