Where Do I End and You Begin?

by Shulamith Oppenheim, Monique Felix (Illustrator)

Overview

"Where do I end and you begin? / Asked the cat of its tail, / Asked the shell of the snail." From animals and plants to natural phenomena and sensory images, this rhythmic poem employs a thought-provoking refrain to introduce the concept of interconnectedness in life. By exploring the relationships the parts have to the whole, author Shulamith Oppenheim underscores that where things come together represent the strongest points of connection—and that the connections we make with one another bring everything full circle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568462745
Publisher:	Creative Company, The
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	BR (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

To Ohio-born Shulamith Oppenheim, a devoted grandmother and writer of nearly 20 books for children, the pure honesty children bring to their interactions with the world provides inspiration and encouragement.

Monique Felix is a renowned Swiss artist and author who studied graphic arts at L'Ecole des Arts Appliqués in Lausanne. She has since illustrated more than 40 acclaimed children's books, including Creative Editions' The Rumor, The Velveteen Rabbit, Tuba Lessons, and The Good Ship Crocodile. Among her many honors is the Octogone Prize from the International Center of Children's Literature in France.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/07/2015
Exquisite visual transformations accompany equally polished verse in this contemplation of togetherness. "Where do I end and you begin?/ Asked the cat/ of its tail,/ Asked the shell/ of the snail," begins Oppenheim (Rescuing Einstein's Compass). The black cat, realistically rendered in watercolor and pencil, stalks across a white page, its tail (and the section of verse in which the tail is mentioned) revealed after a page turn. The tail morphs into a winding tunnel, within which a gray mouse peers up at the night sky. Elsewhere, a wooden recorder becomes a branch dotted with red berries (a similarly musical songbird perches on it), and a snowy landscape is transformed into the torso of a pale brown deer. A boy and girl reappear throughout, and their embrace at book's end supplies the answer to Oppenheim's riddle: "And I know when we hug—/ That's the place you meet me!" There's not a single misstep in the lulling language and rhythms of Oppenheim's verse, and Felix (Good Ship Crocodile) matches it with gentle illustrations, creating a parallel magic that captivates from start to finish. Ages 6–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

". a thought-provoking glimpse at the interrelatedness of people and other living things ." - School Library Journal

"An elegant conversation starter to a not-so-simple question." - Kirkus Starred Review

"Exquisite visual transformations accompany equally polished verse in this contemplation of togetherness." - Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

From the Publisher

09/01/2015
Gr 2–4—Oppenheim offers a thought-provoking glimpse at the interrelatedness of people and other living things with the natural world and their own places in it in this brief, carefully worded poem. ("Where do I end and you begin?/Asked the song/of the bird,/Asked the phrase of the word.") Swiss illustrator Felix's watercolor and pencil illustrations, filled with seemingly touchable textures (cottony cat's fur, shaggy tree bark, woolly yarn ball) enrich both words and meaning of the verses. However, in several instances, some confusing elements of fantasy included in the artwork are not evident in the text. For example, a mermaid reflecting a fish image in the ocean is accompanied by the text "Asked the sky/of the sea"; an image of a girl climbing what looks like a grassy hill and of a boy sliding down a camel's hump is paired with the line "Asked the hill/of the slope". A larger problem lies in the presentation of the poem's sophisticated message in format that appears to be suited to preschoolers—especially in the depiction of a young boy and girl (the central characters) shown embracing, eyes closed, on the final page ("And I know when we hug -- /That's the place you meet me!") VERDICT More valentine message than provocative discussion stimulus, this concept book will have difficulty finding the right audience.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-29
From animals to plants, sky to sea, people to people, we're all connected. In rhythmic text that flows from one page to the next, Oppenheim asks the titular question, "Where do I end and you begin?" The question is repeated from cat to tail to shell to snail; from branch to tree to sky to sea; from smell to flower to rose to bower; from jump to rope to hill to slope. Emphasizing and extending the simple text, the illustrations also flow from one page to the next, starting with the jacket cover, on which both title and a cat begin on the outside and end on the inside jacket flaps. In warm and luminous watercolors that stand out from the white background, Felix goes beyond the text to add details that invite careful readers to look and then look again. Does the cat on the cover make several appearances? Are the children on the branch a foreshadowing of the children at the end? How many more connections can be made? Between the smell and the flower, Felix adds a bear and honey, for example. And see how a hill becomes a camel. It all ends with a hug. An elegant conversation starter to a not-so-simple question. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews