BIG AND SMALL, ROOM FOR ALL

Bogart presents a way for young children to explore the concepts of big and small in a way few picture books address. Eschewing the usual mother-and-baby-animal or household-items examples, she starts with the universe and gets progressively smaller—sun to earth, mountain, tree, man, child, kitten, mouse, flea...“What is smaller than a flea? / A world of things / too small to see.” What makes this offering so different is that each is big and small at the same time: “Big Earth, / Small mountain.” A turn of the page reveals, “Big mountain, / Small tree.” For her picture-book debut, Newland chooses watercolors in muted earth tones that lend the illustrations a charming retro feel. Her scenery is stunning, and the smaller the comparisons, the more detailed the pictures get. Both text and illustrations have a modest sense of the sublime in their subject, one that comes across clearly. A necessary purchase that surpasses the ordinary fare. (Picture book. 3-6)