Who?

by Leo Lionni

From squirrels to turtles to prickly porcupines, Leo Lionni's signature illustration style and a toddler-friendly text ask a simple Who is the animal on each page? One of four board books that celebrates the art and imagination of Leo Lionni, this book is a perfect introduction to identifying animals for busy toddlers, as well as a wonderful stepping stone into the world of one of our best-loved children's book creators.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

16 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid

[Miss Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great illustrations, but the layout isn't very good.

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Red 1st

[Tatiana Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

coleção que fala de como se constroi uma história: o quê, como; quem? quando? onde? porquê? muito bonita a ilustração de colagem.

[Y.Poston]

cute guessing book

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is in the style of paper collage (very similar to an Eric Carle), but the layout is *such* a missed opportunity.

The refrain of the text reads as a prompt on the left-hand page (e.g. -- "as fluffy as a ----") and depicts an animal, for which the child is supposed to 'guess' the name and complete the sentence).

But, unfortunately, the answer is revealed immediately on the right-hand page rather than the building of suspense (and opportunity for child to answer aloud before viewing the 'right' answer) that it could have been if the page necessitated being turned before the animal's name was revealed.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art of Leo Lionni, and the white backgrounds make perfect sense for babies/toddlers who need that high contrast. 4 stars for the use of similies (a refreshing alternative to the usual rhyming leadup) and the mix of traditional and unusual (for a board book) animals.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dialogic reading book is nice because it has the answers to each of the questions on the page. Lionni's other books in this series do not contain that component, and I find it really helpful to be able to indicate the answer in print form. Animals are always fun for children to see, as well.

[Jasmine Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though as soon as my daughter saw this book she said, "We are talking about this at school," this book really isn't for older children. This book is for the age group 0-3 really. We still enjoyed reading it though. :)

[Mfoot]

Qui ?