Just in Passing

by Susan Bonners

A yawn is passed from a baby to an enormous number of people, one by one, until it comes back to the baby.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a sentence at the beginning, the rest of this story is shown in pictures. I really liked the idea of a baby yawning, someone catching this yawn and passing it on and the end had the conclusion I was hoping for. The illustration style and the subject matter of the book, a simple event in the life of a young child reminded me very much of Sarah Garland's series of picture books without text that covered these daily activities with young children, these were read again and again when my children were babies/toddlers and I'm sure this would be a wonderful book to share with a small child.

Read on open library.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now we all (or at least most of us) do know that yawns tend to indeed be somewhat catching, and Susan Bonners uses this here premise in her 1989 (and basically wordless) picture book Just in Passing to with delightfully expressive watercolours showcase how a very young infant’s rather massive yawn as he or she is being carried by his or her mother is then constantly being passed along to a large number of very different types of people (and of all ages) until it finally returns to the infant who originally yawned (and who might likely also begin the entire process again).

And albeit that there are no conflicts presented in Just in Passing, while there is not really even all that much of a presented and illustrated plotline or story (except to of course visually and aesthetically point out that if you see one person yawning you will often also begin doing this), I have indeed very much enjoyed Just in Passing. For Susan Bonners’ illustrations, they most definitely are colourfully and expressively delightful, and indeed, on the yawn’s journey from person to person, a typical day in a typical American neighbourhood is shown (from stores to people walking, from individuals relaxing to construction and other types of jobs), leaving a delightful small to medium town USA portrait replete with many visual details which I am sure young children will delight in poring over and discovering. Highly recommended, but since I read Just in Passing on Open Library, I also do not really know just how readily (and how cheaply) available Just in Passing is and even whether it is still in current print.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you get a picture of the cover? They have the cover on the Kindle edition....

I loved this book when I got it from the library YEARS ago when I had young ones at home. It is now out of print, sadly, but I found a new copy online to purchase :) Yay!

Lovely watercolor illustrations and a sweet story of a baby's yawn.

[Sara Balthazor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is it that all the children's books I loved while student teaching are now out of print? This wordless book has nice illustrations and tells a neat story which would be great for discussing sequences with kids.