CM Magazine: Leap!

________________ CM . . . . Volume XXIV Number 15. . . .December 15, 2017

cover
Leap!

JonArno Lawson. Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2017.
32 pp., hardcover, $18.99.
ISBN 978-1-77138-678-4.

Preschool-grade 1 / Ages 4-6.

Review by Nikita Griffioen.

**½ /4

excerpt:

Leap! Land! Twist and spin! The bunny bounds out as the clouds roll in.

Leap! is a book that is bound to get readers of all ages ready to expend some energy – until the end! Lawson uses poetic prose to tell the story of various animals as they leap around. The melodic writing includes phrases like “Leap! And away… onto a bunny/down where the flowers/and the grass smell sunny” (p. 7) and “Tails go smack!/Silvery skins/slippery slap!/Flashing fins” (p. 13). Lawson’s way with words allow for imagery to be created while tantalizing the tongue. As each page turns, another creature leaps, keeping the pace of the story interesting and engaging. Despite its enjoyable energy, Leap! is still a suitable bedtime story, however – the last page holds an ending sweet enough to lull any little one to sleep.

Josée Bisaillon’s illustrations are the perfect mix of vibrant color and movement that enhance the leaping and bounding activities of Lawson’s story. Bisaillon’s artistic style is slightly reminiscent of Patricia Pollaco; the illustrations are whimsical, inviting, and full of movement. Atop layers of graphic art and watercolor-looking pictures are white lines that suggest movement of water and paint droplets demonstrating the splash of water. Bisaillon’s delightful illustrations are the perfect match for Lawson’s poem of a story.

Leap! is a book to be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Surely any reader will like following the storylines of various creatures as they leap and bound around, prompted by the leaping of another. Leap! is a book perfect for story time or bedtime.

Recommended.

Nikita Griffioen is a high school teacher in Abbotsford, BC. When she is not too busy wrangling teenagers, she writes and illustrates her own stories which she hopes to have published one day.

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