Skyscraper

by Dennis Lee, Nora Hilb (Illustrator)

Two children watch a skyscraper from their window and ask it to tickle the stars and the sun for them.

16 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Dennis Beynon Lee, OC, MA is a Canadian poet and thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is also a children's writer.

After attending high school at the University of Toronto Schools, Lee received bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of Toronto. He is best known for his children's writings; his most famous work is the rhymed Alligator Pie (1974). He also wrote the lyrics to the theme song of the 1980s television show Fraggle Rock and, with Philip Balsam, many of the other songs for that show. Balsam and Lee also wrote the songs for the television special The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. Lee is co-writer of the story for the film Labyrinth.

Reviews

[Jessica Thurlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book to Ezra when she was starting to get a little fussy. She enjoyed the sound the words made together in this easy-to-read, gentle poem. It's a fantastical poem evoking a child's imagination. Definitely a book we'll keep in our collection!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the first read, this is a cute book about skyscrapers. We see a skyscraper at different times of day from one boy's window.

SPOILERS:

When I read it again, pointing out different objects in the picture to my daughter, I noticed the UFO on the last page and a possible child's drawing of an alien on the previous page. Of course now I'm trying to read more into every picture ("see that red balloon, Sweetie, that symbolizes the innocence of humankind" etc). Fun times.