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The Gift
Two children fly over their town, travel to the bottom of the ocean, and explore a jungle in the cardboard box that had wrapped a gift.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 1985
7 people want to read
About the author
John Prater
101 books3 followersJohn Prater studied graphics at Brighton College of Art and went on to Reading University. He worked in advertising for several years before taking up teaching. He is married with two children and his wife.
His first book, On Friday Something Funny Happened , was runner-up for the 1983 Mother Goose Award, which is presented annually to the most exciting newcomer to children's book illustration. Since then he has illustrated picture books with great success for both Walker Books and The Bodley Head, illustrating such memorable titles as The Kite and Caitlin, Timid Tim and the Cuggy Thief and the sequel Really Brave Tim as well as a number of irresistible bear books for the very young, The Bear went over the Mountain, Number One Tickle your Tum, Again!, Oh Where, Oh Where Board Book, Walking Round the Garden Board Book and a Baby Bear Lift-the-Flap Book.
John continues to work full time as an illustrator and lives with his family near Southampton.
His first book, On Friday Something Funny Happened , was runner-up for the 1983 Mother Goose Award, which is presented annually to the most exciting newcomer to children's book illustration. Since then he has illustrated picture books with great success for both Walker Books and The Bodley Head, illustrating such memorable titles as The Kite and Caitlin, Timid Tim and the Cuggy Thief and the sequel Really Brave Tim as well as a number of irresistible bear books for the very young, The Bear went over the Mountain, Number One Tickle your Tum, Again!, Oh Where, Oh Where Board Book, Walking Round the Garden Board Book and a Baby Bear Lift-the-Flap Book.
John continues to work full time as an illustrator and lives with his family near Southampton.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 5, 2014
One of the kids in one of my 4th and 5th grade classes asked me what my single favorite book was. I told him that was a mean question to ask a librarian. Which it is. That said, I have been putting a lot of thought into it and I think this may be my favorite book. Why? It is not the most visually stunning book ever written. It's premise has been used by more snazzy recent books (Aaron Becker's Journey, for one), and you might think that for a wordless picture book, originality of premise and beauty of artwork might be the main criteria for evaluating them. In fact, this book is completely unique in the way that it quietly, clearly, and engagingly shows the way kids can turn objects, any object, into a means of discovery and adventure. Things can't do that, only minds can. More nostalgically, it shows the way siblings can share this imaginary adventure in a way nobody else can. They just have to look at each other to know. They rarely appear to actually speak to one another; their gestures conjure reality for both. Even better, each moment, each thing the kids sight along the way, is portrayed, so that the reader, too, can point to it. They can see the girl finding the pearl necklace, fasten it, and leave it on.
I suppose that it is my favorite book because there is no way to read it without becoming the children in it, seeing what they see, experiencing the wild swoops of the box, the splash of water from the waterfall, the snack waiting for them at home. They rarely if ever appear to actually speak to one another; their gestures conjure reality for both them and the reader, so it seems that we, too, conjure the adventures from the confines of the box. This book, like the box, is imbued with magical powers that transport us readers on adventures, to childhood, through the imagination, and home. It is everything a picture book, any book, ought to be.
I suppose that it is my favorite book because there is no way to read it without becoming the children in it, seeing what they see, experiencing the wild swoops of the box, the splash of water from the waterfall, the snack waiting for them at home. They rarely if ever appear to actually speak to one another; their gestures conjure reality for both them and the reader, so it seems that we, too, conjure the adventures from the confines of the box. This book, like the box, is imbued with magical powers that transport us readers on adventures, to childhood, through the imagination, and home. It is everything a picture book, any book, ought to be.
Displaying 1 of 1 review