Illustrator Study: David Diaz

Themes: Observation, Nature, Early Vocab, ELD

Activity: Do a Look! Walk of your own after reading this book and have kids create their own Look! Books simple with words and illustrations.

Nature; foreshadowing - lovely illustrations ( )

Gorgeous, colorful oversized illustrations and minimal text make this a great choice for storytime. A big hit with my preschool and family storytimes. ( )

Out on a walk with his mother, a young boy points out a grasshopper, saying: "Mama, Look!" This becomes the refrain of the book, as the grasshopper's children in turn point out an ant, the ant's children point out a butterfly, and so on. The chain of observation and delight continues, as each creature that is observed is in turn the one observing, until finally things come full circle, and return to the human mother and child.

Although in sympathy with the purpose of Mama, Look!, as set out in the author's afterword - apparently it is meant to provoke readers to take a closer look at the natural world around them - somehow the book itself just didn't impress me greatly. This is less of a story than a series of encounters, each presented in the same way, textually speaking. What saves the book (and my rating of it), are David Diaz's beautiful illustrations, with their lush color and folk-art sensibility. Recommended primarily to Diaz fans, although those looking for very basic stories about appreciating the natural world might also want to take a look. ( )