Turning the adage that sticks and stones may break one's bones on its ear, picture-book titans Singer and Pham team up to entice young readers to go where most Generation Xbox angels fear to tread: outside. Here Singer presents the full spectrum of outdoor activities in rhymed poems consummately animated by Pham's vibrant drawings. No matter the diversion--playing with the dog, balancing on the curb, running through a sprinkler, making stone soup with friends--Singer's entreaty to get out and play is unmistakable. While many of the snappy lyrics show off the pleasures of moving--"Everything's a blast / when you do it really fast!"concludes a piece extolling the virtues of running, puddle-jumping and skateboarding--a real strength of the collection is its engagement of the imagination. For example, in the title piece, what an ordinary stick in the hand can become--a royal scepter, pen, magic wand, drumstick--is limited only by its holder's creativity. Pham's evocative artwork heightens the imagination's importance in play, with her digitally colored pencil-and-ink renderings so finely textured that they radiate a warmth as arresting as Ezra Jack Keats'. A thrilling integration of verse and image, motivating all to serious fun. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)

K-Gr 4 From running through sprinklers to blowing bubbles to catching fireflies, this book has 18 short poems about active, imaginative play in summer weather. The first few lines of the title poem give an idea of the simplicity of the rhythmic verses: "A stick is an excellent thing./If you find the perfect one,/it's a scepter for a king&30;." The accompanying illustration is a line of smiling, stick-wielding children. Loosely structured, the collection begins in the peace of an early morning: "Every summer morning/I'm always the first one/to go outside, to toss my ball,/to lose it in the sun." It ends with a quiet poem about a child and parent stargazing. The attractive, digitally enhanced pictures match the spirit of the verses well but fall a bit short in the way of depth and texture. While not an essential purchase, this is an appealing book. Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Eighteen poems celebrate the old-fashioned kind of play, where the only equipment you need is a ball or a piece of chalk. Singer uses different styles of poetry and moves the poems from morning to dusk. Pham's illustrations match the retro feel of the games and feature a multicultural group of children, with wide eyes and wide smiles, enjoying the exciting play.

"Everything's a blast / When you do it really fast." From playing jacks or hopscotch on the city sidewalk to jumping rope ("It's the slap / slap / slap / of two jump ropes when they touch"), the sounds of the rhyming words are part of the fun in this picture-book poetry collection, and the broad, colorful, digitally colored spreads show kids in uproarious motion together, barreling down a hill and hanging upside down on the swings, and also absorbed in imaginative play, from hide-and-seek in the jungle to making the title's discovery that a stick has multiple possibilities for games. Even the youngest children will recognize the hands-on enjoyment of "making soup" with mud, grass, stones, and more. After all the wild activity, the book's climax is quiet: stargazing with Dad from a window before sleep. Fun for sharing and acting out many times over, at home and in playgroups.

Turning the adage that sticks and stones may break one's bones on its ear, picture-book titans Singer and Pham team up to entice young readers to go where most Generation Xbox angels fear to tread: outside. Here Singer presents the full spectrum of outdoor activities in rhymed poems consummately animated by Pham's vibrant drawings. No matter the diversion--playing with the dog, balancing on the curb, running through a sprinkler, making stone soup with friends--Singer's entreaty to get out and play is unmistakable. While many of the snappy lyrics show off the pleasures of moving--"Everything's a blast / when you do it really fast!"concludes a piece extolling the virtues of running, puddle-jumping and skateboarding--a real strength of the collection is its engagement of the imagination. For example, in the title piece, what an ordinary stick in the hand can become--a royal scepter, pen, magic wand, drumstick--is limited only by its holder's creativity. Pham's evocative artwork heightens the imagination's importance in play, with her digitally colored pencil-and-ink renderings so finely textured that they radiate a warmth as arresting as Ezra Jack Keats'. A thrilling integration of verse and image, motivating all to serious fun. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)