Leap by JonArno Lawson -NO

Lawson, JonArno Leap, PICTURE BOOK. Kids Can Press, 2017.  $17.

Starting with a flea, readers follow one leaping and jumping creature after another through the pages of this book. The story reads like free verse poetry. Readers meet a grasshopper, a rabbit, a frog, a horse, and more. Simple green washed illustrations on large pages accompany.

I felt that this book was overall just kind of odd. The illustrations were kind of drab, even the pages that were supposed to be bright, like one featuring a bunny. The verse rhymed at times and was stilted at others. In order to accomplish whatever poetry they were going for, some word choices were use that would not resonate with young readers, like Gambol and nettled. The ending was kind of odd too, I thought the dog might have leapt and was falling in the air.  

EL(K-3) –NO.  Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author