 Click the cover to look inside!    
|
Author: Laya Steinberg Illustrator: Cris Arbo
Retail Price: Paperback • $8.95 | Board • $7.95 Here is an opportunity to allow children to love the Earth first—just what they need to do, before we ask them to save it. Wonderful creatures of nature come alive through the curious eyes of a young girl in gently rhyming, delightfully imaginative verses. She notices everything around her with awe: “A rock is an island for a frog . . . a turtle makes a bridge from a log . . . the sky is a place to be free . . . the Earth is a home for me.” This book combines the best of fiction and nonfiction, and shows the joy of discovering the beauty of nature. For a fascinating look at Cris Arbo’s way of illustrating, see her commentary at Behind the Scenes with Cris Arbo. Check out our free All Around Me, I See – Activities, featuring excellent class activities, a discussion guide, and interviews with the author and illustrator! |
- Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of 2006
Readers will want to add their own impressions to the story. Laya Steinberg encourages young readers to be observant and to appreciate other creatures’ views. All Around Me I See is one of numerous books from Dawn Publications promoting nature awareness. The vibrant front cover expresses beauty and action that will appeal to customers of all ages. The book is recommended for children ages 3 to 8. However, both adults and children will enjoy it. Place it face front, and watch people pick it up!
— New Age Retailer – Jean E. Hangsgen (July 2005)
The author presents a simple story of a family who goes on an overnight camping trip. The text flows as the reader shares the child’s experience from the moment she leavers her home and travels along the shore to the camping site in the forest. As the child travels in the family car, each part of nature she encounters is shared with the reader, viewed through the child’s eyes. The text sets the mood for this journey by being short and poetic. Each part of nature is described in this manner. The words match the pictures, which are beautifully reflective of nature, with vibrant colors and realistically portraying the animals and child’s family. The picture of the family driving shows the child with her hair blowing in the wind by the open window. The child eventually falls asleep in her mother’s arms whereby the author creates a dream sequence. This is beautifully presented as the child flies through the forest and space in awe of the beauty. This is a beautifully written book that is a wonderful introduction to nature for young children. The pictures alone could be used as a teaching tool to learn about animals’ habitats and the wonders of nature. Recommended.
— Library Media Connection (January 2006)
The exuberant joy of a child’s first nature discoveries – a frog, a deer, a fish, a beetle – are celebrated in this “realistic fantasy” of nature from a child’s point of view.
With eyes wide open to the mysteries of nature, a child on a hike with her family discovers wonderful creatures and relates to them with simple analogies to her human experience. A leaf is a boat for a beetle; the grass is a bed for a deer; a hollow is a hideout for a squirrel; and a blossom is a bowl for dew … Tired from her long walk, she sleeps – and in her dream, she frolics with a deer and soars among flowers and treetops to view nature close-up.
Illustrator Cris Arbo truly captivates with her colorful artwork, and evokes the emotions of childhood delight. Her techniques of fantasy realism portray the child’s eye view with magic and vitality.
— County Kids (February 2006)
