Open This Little Book

File this one under "so good I actually cried tears of jealousy that I hadn't written it."

Not only a masterpiece of meta-fiction for those of us who are simply book people, it's also a great jumping off place for kids to make up their own stories about the many animal characters, each reading their own book. My 2 year old was entranced, turning each page, smaller and smaller, and then inspecting the animals in the library on the last page. We read it three times, right in a row. And bonus, the author dedicates it (in part) to Levar Burton. READING RAINBOW SHOUTOUT Y'ALL.

Is it too early to call this one a Caldecott contender?

Wow. The level of thought and expertise that went into the design of this book amazes me, starting with the endpapers (gray raindrops to start which transform into rainbow colored raindrops at the back). The storytelling works on so many levels - there's the simple story the text tells, the items shared and exchanged by the friends, the absolutely brilliant use of color, and the underlying, very subtle message about how friendship, kindness, and sharing stories can change your world - making it a more colorful, brighter place to be. The attention to detail makes for a delightfully slow reading experience - tracking each of the animals and their items and who gets what in the end (I particularly adore the ladybug turning her coffee mug show more into a necklace for rabbit) and watching how the colors begin to mix in the back half of the book - primarily monotone scenery from the first half comes alive with all the colors from the book in the second half. To top things off, the whole thing is beautiful, particularly when you hit the center and all the pages are laid out like a rainbow. I can't wait to share this one with all the children in my life! show less

This may look like an average picture book on the outside, but open it up and you'll find a book within a book within a book within a book within a book! As you open the cover of each book, you find a smaller book inside, until you get to the teeniest, tiniest book in the middle.

Each book is being read by a different creature: a ladybug, a frog, a rabbit, and bear and a giant. But the ultimate reader is the child, who is encouraged at the end to go out and read even more books. You can tell your young reader that this is one book that's actually seven books! Then sit back and watch them explore this neat concept.

While it's too small for story time, this is a great tribute to the joys of books and reading. I will also add that showing show more it to someone would be a great help in explaining how [b:Cloud Atlas|49628|Cloud Atlas|David Mitchell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344305390s/49628.jpg|1871423] works. show less

There's nothing more fun than to open a picture book and to be surprised by something fresh!

The reader opens a succession of colored books, each smaller than the last, each read by a different critter, until the giant (whose shadow looks very human) complains that her fingers are too big to open anything any smaller--and then the books get bigger and bigger again!

A charmer.

I felt a little cheated by this book. While the design is awesome, there's not much story or cleverness even beyond the basic idea of the book. It's a book in which a creature opens a book, which reveals another book, which when opened reveals yet another book and so on, but the words don't reveal anything further than what you would otherwise gather from the illustrations. It might just as well have been a wordless story. Maybe it's the nerd in me, but I had probably been hoping either for the book to make more sense or alternatively for some logical paradox or visual trick to make it more worthwhile. However, the design is quite clever, and has details and references that I enjoyed, such as the rainbow forming, how the pictures become show more more colorful after each book read, or the little ladybug bringing the hare's clock back from the book. I don't think we'll read it again, but I would probably grant it 3 and 1/2 stars if I could for the beautiful illustrations. show less

Open This LIttle Book, written by Jess Klausmeier and illustrated by Suzy Lee (2013) is a wonderful book to share with young kids at the beginning of the school year, as it will inspire them to want to tell their own story. After the reader opens the cover, they continue to open more covers, each smaller than the one before it, and each containing a unique story for a unique character. This is an absolutely delightful book with vintage inspired, very clever illustrations.

I would use this in a classroom to inspire kids to tell their own stories. PreK-2.

A super cute concept book playing with size and color in a unique way. The book is a traditional size book but as you open and read it gets smaller and smaller till you're reading a tiny book.