Too Big

by Ingri d'Aulaire, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

The little hero of this tale has a shock of blond hair, a devoted dog, and a frisky cat, but today he has a problem, a big problem, in he’s just too big to do the things he wants to do. He’s too big to put on his little hat and coat, too big for his mother to pick up, and too big to ride around on the dog’s back. Luckily he’s not too big to dream of the time when he’ll be big enough to relish the challenges ahead and to set out on bold new adventures of his own.

In glowing primary colors, Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, famous for their luminous retellings of the Norse and Greek myths, paint a charming portrait of a typical toddler feeling his way into the world. Based on a story that enchanted the d’Aulaires’ own little boy, Too Big is a wise and winning tale of growing up and discovering that though there are some things you just can’t do, that still leaves everything you can.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2008

About the author

Ingri d'Aulaire (1904-1980) was an American children's artist and illustrator, who worked in collaboration with her husband and fellow artist, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire. Born Ingri Mortenson in Kongsburg, Norway, she studied art in Norway, Germany and France, and met Edgar Parin d'Aulaire when she was a student in Munich. They married in 1925, and immigrated to the USA shortly thereafter, settling in Brooklyn in 1929. After pursuing separate careers initially, the couple turned to illustrating children's books together, releasing their first collaborative effort, The Magic Rug, in 1931. They settled in Wilton, Connecticut in 1941, and lived there until their deaths in the 1980s. Awarded the 1940 Caldecott Medal for their picture-book biography of Abraham Lincoln, the d'Aulaires published other children's biographies, as well as some notable works on Greek and Norse mythology. (source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: There once was a boy and he was TOO BIG. He could not get into his little pants because he was TOO BIG. He could not get into his little coat because he was TOO BIG.

Premise/plot: The boy in this story has outgrown all his favorite things. He's just too big now. But being too big won't keep him from dreaming big.

My thoughts: Too Big was originally published in 1945. I personally love the vintage illustrations. I particularly love the cat and dog. I want to crawl into the book and just play with them and pet them. Half the illustrations are in color, the other half are in black and white. The story itself is very simple. To be honest, there's not much text to it at all! This being for better or worse. The repetition is strong with this one. Some sentences worked better for me than others. For example, it's easy to outgrow clothes, shoes, hats, etc. But the authors use the phrase "too big" to also stand in for "big enough to know better." (So he's too big to play rough with the cat.) The whole sequence with the horse just confused me. (Another thing I found confusing, why does the boy's milk glass read GOOD BOY?)

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what made me put this on our hold list for the library. We've been reading some books by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire and I suppose this just caught my eye. It's a small book, definitely for the toddler-preschooler set, but was still an interesting read. Our oldest was not amused, but our youngest liked it. It has a simple, repetitive narrative and fun illustrations.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks. Literally the only thing in the book the kid actually seems too big for is riding the dog. All the clothes look like they fit AND why would anybody at any age pick a cat up by the tail? And he's not too big for that? What? And then of course he's not too big to ride the horse, which the book admits, but then why say it at all? Is he just going around making up that he's too big? And then the ending is so abrupt and weird and I just don't get it.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Big is just too cute! Love the illustrations.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had beautiful artwork, but the boy didn't actually look too big for anything from the the pictures.

[Uri Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending made me chuckle.
(The listing incorrectly says the book was first published in 2008, but in fact it was 1945.)