Hold This

by Carolyn Cory Scoppettone, Priscilla Alpaugh (Illustrator)

Overview

With every step and stumble, Mika discovers the wonders of nature, as well as the ability to pick herself up after a fall. But the real discover for both daughter and parent comes at the end, when they unearth a true treasure that will last a lifetime. As Carolyn Cory Scoppettone gently explores the changing relationship between a father and a daughter, Priscilla Alpaugh's evocative watercolors bring the joy of an outdoor treasure hunt to life. Young readers will delight in the tiny cast of woodland creatures who follow in Mika's footsteps to uncover the beauty of the woods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952143090
Publisher:	Islandport Press
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	9 - 14 Years

About the Author

After working as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, Carolyn Cory Scoppettone moved to small town New England to raise her children. Her new job as a freelance writer allowed time for walks in the woods. The children would race ahead, returning frequently with woodland treasures. Their sheer joy at exploring nature inspired Carolyn to write Hold This! In addition to picture books, Carolyn writes poetry, creative nonfiction, and middle grade novels. She lives in Montpelier, Vermont, with her husband Greg (a television director), their daughters, Sophia, Anna, and Nadia, plus two cats, one dog, and a puppy.Priscilla Alpaugh earned her BFA in Painting and Illustration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and studied for her MFA in Illustration at Syracuse University. Priscilla creates illustrations for the children's market. She also has been known to paint murals and traffic control boxes, design logos and bookplates and make digital animations. She works primarily in traditional mediums such as pencil, colored pencil, ink and watercolor, but will use digital methods as required. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers.

Editorial Reviews

2015-07-27
A toddler and her dad take a walk in the woods, where there is much to behold and to hold. A "sparkling stone," a "spiny spiral pine cone," and a "bumpy brittle brown twig": each find summons the titular imperative from Mika to her father. He reminds her that she's a big girl and can hold her treasures herself. A stumble causes her to lose them, but with a kiss from dad, she's ebulliently looking around again. Here, swirling display type accentuates her renewed enthusiasm as she lights upon leaves, a stream, and a frog, all gathered (the stream in a cupped leaf), all lost again. Mud and a mushroom are next. (Either dad is a mycologist and recognizes it as harmless, or he is secure in the knowledge she won't eat it, for no parental warning issues forth.) A rotten log is an immediate fail, but Mika has distracted herself (rather abruptly) with a fairy house. On the way home, a final "Hold this!" finds hands joined in companionship. Alpaugh illustrates Scoppettone's brief, onomatopoeic text with bright watercolors. Mika has East Asian features, while her father is a blond Caucasian. Their relative sizes may give some readers pause—very young Mika seems at times quite big—but this serves to visually unite them. Small animals play fancifully in the background; at one point, mice float by on inner tubes. A sweet celebration of sharing in the outdoors. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews