A Book of Few Words

Orange Pear Apple Bear
By Emily Gravett
Simon and Schuster, 2007

When I first read Wolves by Emily Gravett (review here), I thought she was brilliant! Now I think she is even more brilliant. I wish I was able to write so few words and make it mean something that kids would love.

This book has only five words, and one of those words is only on the last page. The other four words (the words that are in the title) are repeated over and over again but in different sequence with different punctuation and different pictures.

What makes this book fun for young kids is that they could “read” this book very quickly. If they learn to pay attention to the pictures and learn the four words that make up the book, they could read it in no time!

Gravett’s watercolor illustration create a lot of white space on the page so the reader focuses solely on the simplicity of the words and the objects the words are illustrating. No one but Gravett could reuse the same objects and the same words over and over again and make them interesting each time.

This book has been nominated for the Cybils fiction picture book category.