Picture This

by Alison Jay

Simple in format, with vibrant folk-art inspired paintings of everyday items and a single, large-type word on each page, Picture This . . . is the ideal first word book for the very young. But there is much more to Picture This . . . than first meets the eye! Each turn of the page reveals a new perspective on what has come before and gives a hint of what's to come. Parents will delight in reading this book with their children, finding visual surprises together and following the gentle story as it progresses through the day and through the seasons.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

30 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Alison Jay was born in Hertfordshire, grew up in Derbyshire and studied graphic design in London where she now lives. After graduating she worked in animation for a short while but gradually started to get commissions in illustration. She works in Alkyd a quick drying oil paint on paper and sometimes adds a crackle varnish to give the work an aged appearance. She has worked in all areas of illustration including
advertising ,packaging, editorial and design. Her commission's include a 48 sheet poster for B.T, a TV commercial for Kellogg's corn flakes and has recently illustrated the new baby range of products for Crabtree and Evelyn. She has also illustrated lots of children's books including 'Picture This', 'William and the night train','The Race', 'I
took the moon for a walk', 'The Emperors new clothes, If Kisses were colours, 'ABC Alphabet', an unabridged fully illustrated version of 'Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland',Listen Listen', 'Welcome to the Zoo', 'A Child's first Counting Book', 'Today is the Birthday of the World' and 'Nursery Rhyme Rainbow'. She recently worked with Aardman Animation on the development
of a feature film and is currently working on a version of 'The Nutcracker'.

Her book 'Welcome to the Zoo' which is a wordless visit to a cage less 'animal hotel' has been selected as one of New York's Bank Street's 2009 best
books of the year.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this is a fine book for the very young. I read the board book edition, which is an appropriate form for a book such as this.

Every page has a picture of something and its one word name, and the pictures are colorful and interesting. I liked “bed” the best, I think. It’s rather clever actually because each picture has quite a few other things in it and the picture that follows features one of the things in the background in the previous picture.

And, I feel like an (old) idiot because it took a second reading, after reading the book description, to see that it also takes the reader through the day and through the seasons.

I first just liked it/thought it was okay, and now I am appreciating it more. Pretty nifty.

[Mavis’s Dad · Rating 1 out of 5]

The back of the book says it’s an evocative word book for the youngest of children. I’m an old fart, but I was as bored as Mavis. Sometimes, even good authors miss the mark.

Moral: There’s no story here, just words and pictures.

Length: The four seasons dragged on and most of the pictures were at a beach where you couldn’t even tell the season anyway.

Favorite Line: Snail.

Overall impression: The only thing that was even remotely fun about the book is how a picture would transition to another picture with a perspective change. But the ship in the bottle and the ship in the ocean are radically different things and I felt like that was cheating a bit. We found this in a Little Library on our walk and it’s going right back into ours. Maybe somebody else will like it. But I can’t picture it.

[Sarah Cho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not have a story line. It had images and the word related to the image. Good for younger children learning to identify objects. The images were made to look outdated and had a cool crackle pattern over every page.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice pictures.

[Dmitry Sedor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and cool!

[Ame · Rating 5 out of 5]

A BEAUTIFUL picture book to use when practicing the basics with the kiddos.

[Nicole Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this simple "one word" picture book. This book has illustration that are LARGER than normal andt this is what makes this book soo cute. This is a WONDERFUL book for site words and there is "more than meets the eye". On every page, there is a clue to what the next picutre will be. What a fun way for students to predict and read at the same time.
This is a great addition I will be adding to my classroom bookshelf. ;)

[Sharon Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parent: Single words caption the illustrations, some of which are connected to the following illustration in an unexpected way and other images seem fairly random. Jay's repertoire seems narrow in this book as many of the images are very similar to other books she has illustrated.

Child: Enjoyed looking for items he recognized and naming them, and because this book is aimed at younger children there were lots of familiar objects (balls, boats, children, hats).

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband picked up a copy of this one day when he was browsing around Borders. It is a simple word book for babies but the images are so cute and picturesque. You can kind of lose yourself a bit in the nostalgia of it all. My husband and I were both crushed when our second child tore it in half. I think we need a new copy--it has been well-loved.

[Stacy Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like "Each Peach, Pear, Plum" or "Zoom," the craft in this book lies in the continuity from picture to picture. The text is "first word" simple, featuring just one noun to label the prominent object in each picture. It's guessing which background item will become the main object for the next page that will keep parents and toddlers enthralled with Jay's old-fashioned, crackle glazed artwork.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are so beautiful. Amir and I "read" it again and again. They really hold his attention--he stared at the snail page for weeks. Now his favorite is the hill page.

As you read, you can find an element of the next picture in the current picture. A ball crashes through a window with teddy bear curtains. The next picture is a teddy bear.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so much more than a first words picture book. Each page features gorgeous primitive style paintings of simple objects like house and ball. Look closer, however, to discover suprises and relationships to delight any age. With only one word per page and a story left for the reader to tell I would use this in a wordless picture book unit.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, each one leading to the next (a snowman on one page shows up in a snow globe on the next) as it progresses through the seasons. This title uses only one word per page, but other titles by the same author use rhyming text.

[Kerri Harshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great picture books for younger children to begin working on their sight words. The illustrations throughout the book are beautiful and are sure to impress. Although the text is for younger children, this book will provide as a great resource for students to use when writing!

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all picture books there are details that you do not notice the first time you read this book. Read it twice just to figure out what details Ms. Jay puts into her illustrations. Although her style is very different, the details remind me a bit of Jan Brett.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple picture book with beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are the key in this simple book, because they show the bigger picture with the following picture being just a small part of the picture. If shown with the opposite page covered up, this book could be used with inferring.

[Andrea Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the cracked look to all of the illustrations in this book! Very unique, something I've yet to see until now. This is a VERY simple word book aimed at children who are still learning new words. Displays a variety of perspective and seasons.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, but lacking narrative structure (although each picture contains a hint of the picture to follow). Good for beginning readers, but not as good as Faster! Faster! by Leslie Patricelli which has a good narrative structure and minimal words.

[Emily Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly engaging journey in delightfully warm and clever illustrations.

[Colleen]

What's New W You? unit 1
Leveled Books - Beginner

[Peony · Rating 4 out of 5]

concept, folk art

0-4

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

40 months - obviously O is way beyond this but it was still fun to look at.

[Andi Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is for 2-5 yo's, Alison's illustrations are charming and sweet and grown ups will enjoy them too! : )

[Stacy Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids liked this book. Very simple for my kindergarteners.

[Julie]

Read to me by my Grandmamá

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read though this book, I wasn't going to rate it very high. Then I went back and looked closely at the illustrations and the stories they could tell.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A puzzling book that demands further inspection. I don't think it's brilliant, but it does have some nice aspects.