'Bouncing in the barrow. Swinging through the sky. Rattling in the trolley. Swaying up so high. Bumping in the pusher. Splashing with our feet. Riding on the pony. Speeding down the street.' Outings to the garden, the supermarket, the pond, the farm...Alison Lester explores all the the active things a little person loves to do.

About the Author

Alison Lester was born in Foster, Australia, and grew up on a farm. She first rode a horse when she was just a a baby in her father's arms, and still rides whenever she can. Alison writes and illustrates her own stories, and her picture books are loved by families across Australia and around the world. She lives on a farm in Victoria, Australia with her husband and three children.

Reviews

ea. vol: illus. by author. unpaged. Viking. 1989. BD $3.50. LC number unavailable. PreS-- While Lester's soft-edged pastel illustrations sometimes have a whimsical (and often naughty) quality when depicting children at play, they are not strong enough to save the series' bland texts. ``Baby is happy,/ Baby is sad,/Baby is good,/ Baby is bad'' is just a sample of the inane verse found in these four toddler titles. All of the illustrations are double-page spreads done in muted colors; each spread is bordered by very small drawings that relate back to the main picture, but most of the objects in these petite drawings are too small for or will be unfamiliar to toddlers. This series represents the kind of books that adults often pick up and say, ``How sweet,'' and then find themselves searching for a less boring alternative. --Louise M. Zuckerman, formerly at San Francisco Public Library