Come Play with Me

by Margaret Hillert, Kinuko Y. Craft (Illustrator)

Reading Levels vary with each set, but range from 1.0-1.3.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry

31 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Margaret Hillert has written over 80 books for children who are just learning to read. Her books have been translated into many languages and have helped children throughout the world learn to read. She first started writing poetry as a child and has continued to write for children and adults throughout her life. As a first grade teacher, Margaret realized that the books available for students just learning to read were beyond their comprehension. She then began to write her easy readers and poetry for children. Her first collection of poetry Farther Than Far was published in 1969. Her many awards include the Chicago Children's Reading Round Table Annual Award for outstanding contributions to the field of children's literature. Other honors include the David W. Longe Prize and the Michigan Bookwoman of the Year Award. A teacher for 34 years, she is now retired and lives in Michigan where she continues to write stories and poetry.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

That rating is an averaging of 4 stars for Craft's illustrations, which are pretty and interesting, although not as good (or as timeless -- so many lime green slacks!) as her later work, and 2 stars for Hillert's weird and pointless craptacular poetry. The only redeeming virtue of the text is that it employs a very limited vocabulary and thus is easily comprehensible by beginning readers. BUT, I remember thinking the poems were stupid and boring even when I was a tiny child.

Up and down.
Up and down.
A ball can go up.
A ball can come down

That is the entirety of the poem "A Ball." Most of the poems are this short, and this pointless. Give me Mother Goose or A Child's Garden of Verses over this pablum any day.

The edition I'm using for this review is from the library and is not the one I had as a child nor does it seem to exactly match any of the edition entries on goodreads. It is ISBN 0-8136-5536-6 and was published in 1975 by Modern Curriculum Press. For having been in circulation almost 30 years it is in excellent shape.

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice beginning readers book.

Although the illustrations and style of this book is reminiscent of books in the past, they just can't make them like before. This one surely has some nice illustrations. The illustrator is Kinuko y Craft.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

These illustrations are so beautiful -- I looked up the artist, Kinuko Craft, and a lot of his other art is super opulent and detailed but the illustrations here are far more subdued while still being fanciful. They're just pretty and nice to look at.

The poems are really dumb. I mean, they're just simple poems for beginning readers, so you shouldn't expect much anyway. But the illustrations are lovely.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

These illustrations! My sister and I loved them

[Kris Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Craft's magnificent, eerie, slightly hippie illustrations that make this book so wonderful. Hillert's poems are very, very basic but Craft's pictures set your brain on fire. My favorite page reads:

"I like to help my mother work.
My mother likes it, too.
I like to help my father work.
Here's something I can do."

But the illustration is a gorgeous winged woman with her antenna-sporting child collecting the stars from the sky and putting them into a flower petal basket. Okay, it's a little twee. But it inspired many games of pretend when I was a child and I will not hear a word against it.

[Kathryn Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully artistic. Lots of color and very unique characters. There are lots of different stories covering many different topics. Most are little poems. Uses lots of rhyming. I would definately use in my own classroom. Would be great for using on a lesson with rhyming!

[WSL Library]

x2

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the fantastical Art Deco-style illustrations.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an early, early beginner reader book. I'm fond of Kinuko Y. Craft art and this whimsical, child-oriented art appeals to me; I therefor wish to share such with my children

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming beginning reader illustrated with the magical art of Kinuko Craft.