Peep!: A Little Book About Taking a Leap
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2—Peep is a baby chick who follows his mother and sisters along the sidewalk, but when his sisters jump confidently off the edge, Peep hesitates. His reactions run the gamut from nervous to angry to terrified, and when he finally gulps and takes that leap, he's overjoyed at his own prowess. But new challenges always await; for Peep, it's the curb that he must climb next. The illustrations, rendered in pencil, ink, and watercolor, make terrifically effective use of color and white space; Peep's mother and sisters remain sketched in black line, but Peep is always highlighted with a wash of yellow, and in his moment of triumph, the whole page turns yellow with him. Size, font, and placement of the text change throughout to match the emotions of the story. This deceptively simple-looking little offering is a virtual master class in the subtle techniques for effective picture-book creation.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.