If You Were a ... - Hardcover

A boy wonders what would happen if he were a bird and, as a result, sprouts wings and a beak. He bathes in a puddle, eats worms and can fly. Then a cat strolls by, and the bird's beak becomes a snout, his wings become front legs, and he evolves into a dog. The cat's owner comes after the dog, and the dog turns into a lion. Yet even a lion's life has problems, and the boy becomes a boy again. The gray transformations are like changing wisps of clouds; Duncan's drawings make the impossible seem within grasp. Even though the boy's circuitous route back to being himself can be predicted from the outset, the book shows an imaginative answer to the old "what if" question. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreSchool-Grade 1 In this very slight story, Duncan relates the advantages and disadvantages of being a bird, a dog, and a lion and concludes that it is best to be one's self. The story does not flow well, and the repetition is inconsistent. The illustrations show a gray blob changing from one character to another, ending with a full-color picture of the animal. The illustrations expand upon the text, but they do not always match the word shown. The abrupt ending is sure to leave most children with an attitude of ``so what.'' Stefanie Rotsaert, Essex Fells School, N.J.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.