AMANDA'S BOOK Kerry Westall Illustrated by Ruth Ohi Willowdale (Ont.), Annick Press, 1991. 24pp, library binding, ISBN 1-55037-185-1 (library binding) $15.95, ISBN 1-55037-182-7 (paper) $5.95. CIP Junior Kindergarten to Grade 2/ Ages 4 to 7 Reviewed by Gwen Maguire Volume 19 Number 6 1991 November This delightful and entertaining picture-book is the story of an imagina­tive little girl, Amanda, who is given a scrapbook for her birthday. The author uses simple and straightforward language to describe the adventure as Amanda begins to cut out magazine pictures to put in her scrapbook. All of a sudden she begins cutting out all sorts of things including chairs, tables, a whole dining room, the moon, the sky, and finally the sun. This creates much havoc in the neighbourhood as birds take to walking on the ground and bump into the people and each other. The earth grows dark and Amanda ends up chasing her kitten inside her scrapbook where she becomes captive in the completely jumbled-up scrapbook world with fish, bicycles, chester­fields and butterflies and all sorts of animals in the sky. It is the kitten who calms Amanda's fears and realizes that the wind will come along, ruffle up the pages of the scrapbook, and blow everything out, including them. Illustrator Ohi uses large, detailed, colourful and truly hilarious pictures that help take the reader inside Amanda's imaginative, topsy-turvy scrapbook world. The contrast and blending of rich colours, detailed topsy­turvy scenes, and the funny pictures serve to enrich and enhance the story. Text and illustrations combine to make this book an adventurous and appealing one that offers the young reader a wonderful trip into the imagi­nation. This book would make an ideal choice for a shared reading experience with the young reader and could lead to lively and interesting group and/or individual discussions. I would highly recommend this picture-book as an excellent choice for any pre-school or Primary classroom teacher. It would also make a wonder­ful addition to any child's personal library. Gwen Maguire, St. John's, Nfld.