Title: The Story of AND
Author: Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Illustrator: Joani Keller Rothenberg
Accompanying song by Carrie Newcomer can be found here.
The Story:
There’s a little girl who loves to count the word AND. Despite everyone telling her not to bother, she doesn’t give up. This book then goes into a tale of how AND holds everything together. When various shapes begin to argue, AND tells the shapes that together they can be great.
Favourite Spread:
My favourite spread was when AND combined Line and Oval to create a crotchet. The musical stave was beautifully illustrated and this, coupled with the fact Carrie Newcomer has written an accompanying song for the story, just seemed to bring the project together.
The Verdict:
I had extremely high hopes for this book as I loved the concept. I also loved the inventiveness of the things AND creates by combining shapes. It has a lovely educational feel as well as a nice message that we are better when we work together. But despite the potential of the idea, the book didn’t quite deliver. There were one too many places where the rhythm and half-rhymes made me stumble over the sentences. However, when you read it along with the song by Carrie Newcomer it does work much better.
Picture Book Perfect Rating:
Three out of five stars (as a standalone book).
Four out of five stars (when listening to the song).
Publisher: Westminster (Flyaway Books)
Publication date: 30 April 2019
ISBN: 978 1947888050
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
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