(2) K-3 Illustrated by Remy Charlip. First published in 1963. A playful, singsongy, almost stream-of-consciousness-like text (“He said / Mmm / He said / Umm / He said / Humm / He said / Hum-de-dum”) and bold, minimalist­ illustrations in a lim-ited palette tell the story of a boy who tries to impose his will on his cat (dressing him up, giving him a ride in a wagon)—but the cat has other ideas. He wants to climb trees, listen for bees, sniff the air, etc. The boy then begins to consider his own sense of self—and the book ends happily with the cat choosing to sleep at the end of the boy’s bed. This is a very effective communication of the concepts of boundaries, identity, and autonomy, presented in a child-friendly way.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Ivan Chermayeff. A poetic, stream-of-consciousness text lets us inside a child's head as a parent gets him up and dressed. "I was thinking of trips / I was thinking of going far away in ships..." Clever use of typography differentiates the speakers (we never see either character, except on the cover); simple, bold illustrations effectively capture the child's imaginative musings.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano