I Never Did That Before

Moore, Lilian

ISBN 10: 0689318898 ISBN 13: 9780689318894

Publisher: Atheneum, 1995

Synopsis

Poems celebrate events in the lives of children, including riding down a hill alone on a sled, making a new friend, the taste of a pickle, and discovering that last year's clothes no longer fit.

About this title

From Booklist:

Ages 3^-5. There are many milestones on the road to growing up. Big ones, like learning to walk, are widely recognized. But smaller triumphs, like learning to skip, often go unmarked. These 14 gentle poems express a child's delight in the little discoveries and steps of growth that make up daily life for the young. Subjects include pleasant events, such as wearing new sneakers, holding a kitten, and learning that blue and yellow make green, as well as unpleasant ones, such as biting a sour pickle and popping a balloon. One poem celebrates a night without fear of the monster in the corner: "Hey, He's not here / tonight. / No hairy bear in sight! / He's gone creeping to his / lair. / He knows I'm too big now / to scare." Outgrowing one's clothes is particularly sweet: "`I don't reach your knees'/ the coat complained. / `Whatever did you do?' / `Coat,' I explained, / `I grew.'" The softly rhymed, uncomplicated verses are well spaced on white backgrounds. Amiable crayon-and-watercolor drawings show children of differing ethnicities doing new things and being pleased about it. Little ones should give this volume a warm reception. Leone McDermott

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2?Moore's newest poetry collection offers 14 selections based on young children's everyday experiences, with subjects like "Monkey Bars," "New Sneakers," and "Kittens." The images and rhymes are obvious ("My new sneakers/want to/run./They want to race/with every/one"); the cozy lines never quite become the original viewpoint that is poetry. Hoban's exuberant mixed-media drawings capture the youngsters in action. Moore's See My Lovely Poison Ivy (Atheneum, 1975; o.p.) remains a better example of her talent.?Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0689318898
• ISBN 13: 9780689318894
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 31
• Illustrator: Hoban Lillian