When I Was Small

When I Was Small
Julie Morstad, Sara O'Leary
RRP:
NZ$ 18.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 15.19
Paperback
h254 x 178mm - 40pg
1 Jul 2021 CAN
International import eta 7-19 days
9781772290318
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Curious little Henry from the award-winning When You Where Small (Simply Read Books, 2006) and Where You Came From (Simply Read Books, 2010) - both available from Turnaround - has a new question for his mother: 'What was it like when you were small?' His mother proceeds to describe her adventures to him, telling Henry all about when she was little - very little! Whimsical pen-and-ink drawings with watercolour accents and a lovely minimalist design complement the simple, poetic text in this charming picture book that will delight both children and their parents.
The Toronto Star: There are lots of picture books on the theme of "what it was like when you were small, but in this case the mother jumps us into a world of delightful exaggeration. "When I was small," she tells little Henry, "my doll and I wore the same size shoes... I went swimming in the birdbath... I slept in a mitten..." Morstad's fine, delicate drawings enhance this Thumbelina-like fantasy, which plays with the relationship between youth and stature. Morstad's tiny girl with big eyes and bobbed hair evokes a young miss of the 1920s - very stylish. Quill and Quire Review: Ever curious Henry, whose enquiries about the recent past formed the basis of Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad's previous collaborations, When You Were Small and Where You Came From, has another question for his mother, this time asking her for a story about when she was small. Henry's mother answers with a series of very short, beautifully bizarre anecdotes delivered at the pace of one per page. The book takes the idea of Henry's mother being "small" literally - she is pictured skipping rope with a ball of yarn, swimming in a birdbath, and standing on a spool of thread. The dreamy quality of both text and image gives the book a slightly low-energy feel, but it may be the perfect thing for a kid who is just a little quiet, a little shy, but still inquisitive - a child not unlike Henry. The result is a perfect antidote for parents whose retinas have been scorched by too much Dora the Explorer. Small visual details, such as the frequent hand-lettering and the spot illustrations, add to the book's quiet impact. The framing of the narrative, with Henry's question at the beginning and his mother's comments at the end, gives kids something concrete to hang onto throughout. When I Was Small is not only a charming picture book, but by focusing on the parent's past instead of the child's, it also has the potential to be a great conversation starter. Calgary Herald:
Sara O'Leary is a playwright, fiction writer, and literary journalist. She teaches Writing for Children and Screenwriting at Concordia University in Montreal.Julie Morstad is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist known for her surreal, whimsical work. Illustrator of numerous children's books, including "Singing Away the Dark" and "When You Were Small" and its two sequels "Where You Came From" and "When I Was Small," Julie has exhibited her work in galleries, animated two music videos with her brother, filled up stacks of sketchbooks, and made countless pots of soup and many loaves of bread. She lives in Vancouver with her family.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781772290318
Published: 1 Jul 2021
Published In: Canada
Imprint: Simply Read Books
Publisher: Simply Read Books
Format: Paperback
Height: 254mm
Width: 178mm
Pages: 40

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