The Horn Book Guide

PRESCHOOL

Leopold, Niki Clark

Once I Was . . .

32 pp. | Putnam | March, 1999 | Trade ISBN 0-399-23105-6 $$15.99

(2) PS Illustrated by Woodleigh Marx Hubbard. The concepts of past and present, growth and change, are demonstrated using such examples as: "Once I was an alphabet, / now I am a book. / Once I couldn't feed myself, / now I love to cook." The rhyming text appears on pages that feature figures drawn in flat perspective against large blocks of vivid color. With its modest themes on growth and friendship, this book could serve as a good conversation starter with preschool audiences.

Reviewer: Nancy Vasilakis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 1999