Jump!

Description

Review "A cat, a dog, a grasshopper, a fish, a rabbit, a pair of chickens, and a little girl all fly through the air with the greatest of east. (Though the snail has a bit of trouble.) The creatures gaze solemnly at readers, but then each leaps: BOING! Limbs splayed, mouths wide, these animals cut comical figures, the absurdism heightened by Matsuoka's graceful, streamlined design. Children will be begging for this one again and again."--School Library Journal--Journal"This exuberant board book by Matsuoka still feels fresh and unique 19 years after its Japanese debut. Animals defy gravity--and the volume's modest trim size--by leaping vertically from recto to verso (or, when the book is held sideways, as intended, simply up). The animals are each introduced simply ('A frog jumps, ' reads the initial spread), then the page turns and the action begins. Realistically detailed animals with stoic expressions and flamboyant moves lend a delightfully absurd mood, and ample white space creates an elegant background for the bouncers' energy. Encouraging the reader to create each leap anew, onomatopoeic 'Boing!'s are rendered in different orientations, sizes, and colors to offset the repetition, and one animal amusingly fails to catch any air, though not for lack of effort. Finally, a pigtailed child ('And I jump, too') brings the action back home. As a book to inspire movement, this one bounds."--starred, Publishers Weekly --Journal"A playful and kinetic assemblage of animals. As the title implies, this volume celebrates the act of jumping, as demonstrated by nine different types of animals. A simple and elegant whimsy underlies every aspect of the book, beginning with the practical conceit of reorienting the book by 90 degrees. After each animal is introduced ('A frog jumps, ' for example), an upward flip of the page reveals a picture of it vaulting skyward. Author Matsuoka has won picture-book, science-book, and children's-book awards in his native Japan, and it's easy to see why. The creatures in this book have a cartoonish degree of personality. The big-eyed frog, for example, smiles softly in a lazy squat; in midflight, it has a proportional, fat-bellied, anatomical correctness. The grasshopper is another striking and even startling example, all legs and head in the first picture, then legs, body, and wings fully extended midleap. Apart from lines implying upward movement, there's a beautiful static quality to these snapshots of motion. Each jump is accompanied by a vibrant 'BOING!' (or 'Boi-oi-oi-oi-oing!' as the case may be), which makes for read-aloud fun for caregiver and child alike. Snails, readers learn, are predictably poor jumpers. 'And I jump, too, ' announces the young, Asian-presenting child who executes the final leap, placing humans in context within the animal kingdom. Delightful--pounce on it!"--starred, Kirkus Reviews--Journal"Board Books to Greet the New Year with Open Arms Caretakers who are looking to start the year off with some positivity and open-mindedness should take a look at these three titles for pre-readers ages 0-3. Each cover features a figure with arms wide open, ready to embrace the new year and the new book enthusiast. . . . Tatsuhide Matsuoka's Jump! (Gecko Press, $12.99) opens up into a vertical, portrait format instead of the standard landscape. This choice allows for all of the animals inside--frog, kitten, grasshopper, rabbit--to jump straight up from the bottom of the composition to the top, with a turn of the page. Each animal has its own individually designed 'boing': the frog goes 'Boing!'; the rabbit goes 'Bo-oing!'; the snail? 'Uhm. Maybe not.' Matsuoka's animals, all shown on plain backgrounds with tons of white space, seem filled with potential energy until... they Jump! A perfect exciting kickoff to an active 2020."--Shelf Awareness--Website About the Author Tatsuhide Matsuoka is one of Japan's foremost illustrators, specializing in the natural sciences. He has won the Japan Picture Book Award, the Japan Science Book Award and the Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award.Tatsuhide Matsuoka is one of Japan's foremost illustrators, specializing in the natural sciences. He has won the Japan Picture Book Award, the Japan Science Book Award and the Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award.