I Can Roar! Frank Asch. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2015. 20 pp., hardcover, $15.95. ISBN 978-1-77138-547-3. Preschool / Birth-age 3. Review by Meredith Cleversey. *** /4

excerpt:

I can puff my cheeks like a squirrel.

I can stick out my tongue like a snake.

I can bark like a dog.

I can meow like a cat.

Young readers can act like a lion, a horse, and even a walrus in Frank Asch’s I Can Roar!, a fun, interactive board book.

     Based on the text from two of Frank Asch’s previous board books, I Can Roar Like A Lion and I Can Blink Like An Owl, the newest edition of I Can Roar! combines both sounds and facial expressions as readers are prompted to bark, snap, and scrunch up their faces to mimic different animals. Simple illustrations with short lines of text draw focus to the actions and sounds of the story while a hole cut out of every page allows readers to put their own faces in the book in place of each featured animal, encouraging participation and play. Infants and small toddlers will enjoy having this story read aloud to them while older readers will have fun taking turns acting out the pages themselves, making this a good choice for both one-on-one and group reading.

     Asch’s original board books have been reissued several times in the past, but now I Can Roar Like A Lion and I Can Blink Like An Owl have been combined into a single book. The result is that I Can Roar! allows readers to both make animal sounds and match the facial expressions of animals as well. Those who have read the original books will notice that certain actions and sounds have been omitted in this new edition due to the merger of the two stories, but for readers experiencing the book for the first time, I Can Roar! is a clever and entertaining story to read with little ones.

Recommended.

Meredith Cleversey is a librarian in Cambridge, ON. She loves to read, write, and live in a world of pure imagination.

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

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

CM Home | Next Review | (Table of Contents for This Issue - September 25, 2015.) | Back Issues | Search | CM Archive | Profiles Archive

Updated: October 17, 2014 (hsd)