Here We Come!

by Janna Matthies, Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Overview

Join a cast of friends, human and animal alike, as they embark on a musical read-aloud adventure in this upbeat, joyful picture book.

A boy sets off with his flute and his stuffed bear and a rum-pum-pum. As they make their way through the town and the woods, they ask, “Wanna come?” Soon, kids and creatures join in the fun one by one, playing instruments, singing, and dancing to the catchy tune.

But will a storm bring their fun-filled musical parade to an end?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534417878
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	465,372
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 8 Years

About the Author

Janna Matthies is a picture book author and early elementary music teacher in Indianapolis. Her books include Here We Come!; God’s Always Loving You; Two Is Enough, which made the 2016 Bank Street list and New York Times Book Review; The Goodbye Cancer Garden; Peter, the Knight with Asthma; and Monster Trucks. Janna is a longtime volunteer with the Indiana SCBWI and provides editorial services to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for picture books supporting their Teddy Bear Concert Series. When she’s not writing or making music, Janna can be found digging in the garden, swimming laps, walking Juneau the howling Husky, or keeping up with her husband and three mostly-grown kids.

Christine Davenier’s favorite dessert is profiterole au chocolat. She is the illustrator of many books for children including the Iris and Walter series by Elissa Haden Guest and The First Thing My Mama Told Me by Susan Marie Swanson, for which Christine received a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year Award. She lives in Paris.

Editorial Reviews

04/25/2022

Loosely rendered spreads washed in lush nighttime blues give elegance to this fanciful excursion that employs nonsense sounds, a readaloud romp through a nighttime world ordered by rhythm and rhyme. The full moon shines into a bedroom where a teddy bear and light-skinned child look at each other in happy anticipation. A page turn later, they venture out for a nighttime parade: “Here we come with a rum-pum-pum.// Wanna come?” A dog with a guitar, a bear with a fiddle, a brown-skinned child with bubble gum, and more join the procession one by one, Matthies’s rhyming lines stacking up, “The House That Jack Built”–style, until stormy weather (“a drip on a drum”) interrupts their fun. The outing may be over, but the scenes of the parade breaking up are, in Davenier’s hands, just as charming as the scenes in which it grows. Ages up to 8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

04/29/2022

PreS-Gr 2—Join this moonlit parade that begins with a boy and his teddy bear. As they stroll down the lane, they invite the dog they pass—"Here we come with a rum-pum-pum. Wanna come?" The dog with his guitar joins in, and then she invites Little Lu, the toddler they pass: "Here we come with a rum-pum-pum, and a pick and a strum. Wanna come?" And so it goes until their numbers include the boy, teddy bear, dog, Little Lu, an actual bear, hedgehogs, mouse, girl, and rabbit. As the drip on the drum turns into a fast-moving thunderstorm, the parade takes shelter under a tree (unconcerned about lightning, it appears) until it passes—then they march back the way they came, "Home we come!" The lyrical text is delightful to read aloud and could easily be sung. Bold and oversized text emphasizes each new instrument sound. The illustrations effectively reflect the text with perfect facial expressions of mostly joy, though with some confusion and concern regarding the storm. The mostly blue color palette with some muted greens, yellows, and reds embraces the nighttime. Skin tones include pink and brown. VERDICT A cheerful story of a nocturnal musical parade with repetition that invites active participation. Great for getting preschoolers to shake out the sillies before a quieter story—or any time.—Catherine Callegari

School Library Journal