FOR JUST ONE DAY

A group of kids painting pictures in what seems to be a school setting launches a series of playful day-dreams as they imagine what creature they might like to be “for just one day.” The rhyming narrative marches through a smattering of wildlife fantasies featuring a bee, a crocodile, a chimpanzee, a butterfly, a snake and so forth. The upbeat rhymes are active and visual: “But what if I could swim the Nile— / and be a creeping... / Crocodile! / I’d have the sharpest, snapping smile, / if I could be a crocodile.” The book’s downfall is a distance created between the characters and the readers. The group of kids painting in the beginning don’t bear much resemblence to the children pictured throughout, creating a weak, unfulfilled visual narrative. Boutavant’s funky modern/retro illustrations definitely add freshness, and any child will most likely be happy to play the game, but without a unified narrative, nothing’s asking them to stick around. (Picture book. 3-6)