Barney Is Big - Hardcover

PreS This slight slice-of-life story of a boy named Barney somehow misses the target. Barney is getting ready for his first day at nursery school. He needs to feel like a ``big boy'' and at the same time needs to feel babied. On the last page, Barney and mom leave home for school, hand in hand. This picture book is meant to be read aloud to a preschool child by an adult, but the bland, simplistic text reads like a beginner reader. The lackluster, cartoon-like drawings are static and unanimated. In the final analysis, what makes this book feel flat is that the combined text, illustrations, and story idea seem contrived and artificial. It is this very contrivance that will keep preschoolers with nursery school jitters from feeling reassured. Louise M. Zuckerman, formerly at San Francisco Public Library
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