CM Magazine: Hot, Cold, Shy, Bold: Looking at Opposites

________________ CM . . . . Volume I Number X . . . . August 18, 1995

Hot, Cold, Shy, Bold: Looking at Opposites
Written and photographed by Pamela Harris
Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1995.
Unpaginated, cloth, $14.95.
ISBN 1-55074-153-5.

Subject Heading:
English language-Synonyms and antonyms-Juvenile literature.

Preschool / Ages 2 - 4.
Review by Lorraine Douglas.

excerpt:

A hot face, a cold face, a shy face, a bold face, a big face, a small face. . . .

Pamela Harris is a Toronto photographer who has written and photographed two books for adults -- Another Way of Being (Impressions, 1974) and Faces of Feminism (Second Story Press, 1992). This is her first book for children and her first book in colour.

The beautiful, clear photos demonstrate the concept of opposites though the emotional or physical range of faces described in the text. We see an "old face, a new face, a how-do-you-do face," plus the round face of a pumpkin contrasted with the square face of a papier-mâché halloween mask. The simple, lively text and the appealing faces will interest the very young child.

The concept of opposites has been explored by the American photographers Tana Hoban in Exactly the Opposite (Greenwillow, 1990), and Bruce McMillan in Becka Backward, Becka Frontward; A Book of Concept Pairs (Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, 1986). But Harris's approach -- using faces rather than objects or actions -- is unique.

The ethnic backgrounds of the participants make this an excellent choice for multicultural audiences, and the large font size and bold typeface make this a good large-print selection.

Highly recommended.

Lorraine Douglas is Youth Services Coordinator for the Winnipeg Public Library.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - August 18, 1995.