Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood is fabulous for young children. The pictures alone could grab their attention, and the text is very simple. I remember this book from childhood and I love all of the Wood's work that I have been exposed to.

Quick as a Cricket, the title, gives a clue as to what this book is about. When combined with the cover illustration, it makes it obvious. This book shows this child with an animal in every photo and the specific animals trait. Crickets are known to be quick, snails slow, ants small, and whales large. Those are just a few examples. The text follows the pattern "I am as ____ as a ____." I really liked this because young children can identify the pattern. This type of structure also allows children to link animals traits to an animal. Mean as a shark, happy as a lark, and strong as an ox are all examples. I loved this. It is so simple but presented in a unique way that children can recognize and learn these traits.

My absolute favorite part of this book, no question, was the illustrations. They are the best. The child's face shows the emotion so well, and the pictures cover the page and are loaded with color. Every aspect of the illustrations are done so well. The size and angle of the illustrations changes as well, so the pictures look different. The child is never in the same position or with the same expression throughout the book.

This book is clearly geared towards young children, and I think that is very appropriate. For children learning to read, this book would be a nice resource because the words are not too difficult and there is a clear theme. However, even as an adult, I was still entertained reading this book because there were plenty of things I enjoyed about it. I think this book would be great to activate with students. I took a class called "Drama in the Classroom" in the fall, and I think this would be a great read aloud book for young kids because they could be kept engaged throughout. If anyone has not read this book or heard of Don and Audrey Wood, I strongly suggest they become familiar with their work. I have been unable to find my favorite book of all time, Heckedy Peg, a the curriculum lab yet. Quick as a Cricket is wonderful. I have nothing negative to say about it. If I had to, I would suggest illustrating other books like this that are geared toward older readers. :)