Higher! Higher!

A little girl asks her father for one wish: to be pushed higher and higher on the swings! Without using many words, “Higher! Higher!” repeated on most pages, the illustrations are the star of this board book, telling the story from the very first flip from the front cover to the last. The bold and colorful illustrations capture the playful imagination of young children who dream of soaring as high as the mountains, as airplanes, and even high enough to meet an alien in outer space, and the journey back to the ground. As the little girl joyfully ascends, there are picture clues to suggest where she is heading next. A captivating read aloud that will satisfy the active imagination of toddlers who have playground adventures of their own.

The imaginative and adorable illustrations make this book worth reading. The book follows the short story of a nameless little girl and her father pushing her on the swing. Every time she says "higher!", her father pushes her higher and the swing seems to grow by the mile! After no time she is high-fiving aliens in space. This book is especially cute to me because it captures the feeling that I imagine toddlers feel when they are shrieking "higher, higher" for as long as an adults arms are capable of pushing them. I remember swings being a source of minor inspiration as a child. In the sense that when I was swinging I would sing and dream and imagine that I could fly much farther than the swing would propel me. The story does not have show more much content because it mostly consists of one word, but it would be a fun book to read to a very small child. show less

I was drawn to this book because it’s about a little girl being pushed on a swing who keeps telling her father, “Higher, higher!” I loved swinging when I was a girl and so I was sold on that alone! But the book really is awesome. As the little girl goes higher and higher, she sees tops of buildings, a mountaintop, an airplane, until finally she comes face-to-face with an alien in space. They greet each other and then make their way back down to the ground. The book repeats the phrase “higher, higher” on most of its pages and the rest of the text is also simple, making this book really inviting for very young children and for children who are beginning to read. I loved it.

The pictures are also worth talking about. They are show more friendly, with big smiles and bright colors to match the exhilaration of swinging higher and higher. They convey that sense of wonder that kids have, particularly in the rendering of the alien, who is just as friendly and having just as much fun as the girl. That helped give the book also a sense of unity and shared experience that was sweet without being over the top.

With preservice teachers, I would want this book to be part of talk around books that could engender strong connections and enthusiasm from children. I think there would be value in talking through the ways very young children might respond to this text, relating it to their own experience through words and pictures.

I also think this book deserves to be a part of a discussion about books that young children can read. It has a lot of repetition and strong text-picture matching, providing scaffolds for kids. It would be a good example to show preservice teachers when we talk about choosing books that support beginning readers.

Finally, for both preservice teachers and with kids, this book would be a good one to use as a springboard for a class book. One could either use the “higher, higher” phrase or change that to something else, but I think it lends itself well to a book wherein each child has contributed a page. show less

I liked the book, "Higher! Higher!" by Leslie Patricelli. This book is a great book for small children because of its illustrations and word choice. While this book only consists of two sentences: "Higher! Higher!" the images provide the plot and tell the story. I like that the images show a rather realistic image of a girl and her surroundings. I think that if the images were more realistic they would not be as eye catching to the reader. I think that the simple word choice, of only one word is approachable and relatable to a reader. Many have experienced saying "Higher! Higher!" while being pushed on a swing as they want to soar into the clouds. The big idea in this book is that you can go "Higher! Higher!" but at the end of the day show more your family is always back on earth to hug you and support you. show less

This board book takes the familiar activity of playing on a swing set and shows what children might imagine as they get pushed higher into the air, with the protagonist envisioning herself swinging past giraffes, skyscrapers, and the earth’s orbit. She even gets to high-five an alien. The text does not use many more words besides the repeated cry of “Higher! Higher!” Pre-literate children are the ideal audience because the repetition of the text will help them learn the word “higher” and grasp the concept height or altitude.
Patricelli’s images that accompany her sparse text exude the fun the main character is having while she plays with her father. The style is childish, emphasized by the bright colors and the show more hand-lettering. Each two-page spread shows the girl on the swing and the next tall object she levels with. The illustrations also contain a hint as to what the girl will fly past next. Each page is used to tell the story, from the inside cover to the back of the book. Readers will enjoy this book so much that they might want to hit the swing set as soon as they are done reading the book. show less

This book shows a familiar scene in a unique way. A young girl is asking to go "higher, higher!" on a swing. With each push, she sees a new, higher view of her city. Finally, she is in outerspace and give an alien, who is also on a swing asking to go "higher" a high five. She comes down and asks to go "again."

This engaging book conveys so much with so few words. On every page the imaginitive thrill of going higher is clearly expressed. After reading this book with my son, we play "Higher, higher" and high five on the swings. It is a delightful book.

I think this book would be best used as a read aloud in early childhood education or as an early reader.

Children’s Fantasy

Characters: A little girl and her dad

Setting: A park in the middle of the city

Theme: Father and daughter relationships, Friends, Adventure

Genre: Humor, Fantasy & Picture Book

Audience: 2 year olds to Preschool Children

Summary: A little girl and her dad go to the park so she can ride the swing. She keeps on telling him to go higher and higher, each time she imagines she is encountering someone. For example she see’s a giraffe and then she as her dad to keep pushing up reaching new heights of fun and fantasy. She imagines she overlooks the city and then the mountains until she is in the sky next to a plane. The little girl continues to ask her dad to push her until she is next to an alien girl on a swing they meet show more and say good bye as they continue to swing. The little her finally gets of the swing and goes home with her dad.

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts-Students can narrate the story to an adult or to other children. This can help them develop new vocabulary and also use their imagination to construct a story.

Personal Note: I really like this book because it is very
colorful and it reflects the imagination of small children. It is very humorous and adventurous because it has aliens and animals many children fantasies with big animals or that they meet aliens which allows them to use their imagination. show less