WHEN I LOOK UP

A
young child relates all the everyday things observed and encountered that spark
a sense of wonder in this Dutch import.

From
the back of a spring horse at the playground, the child spies a plane and
thinks of “flying to faraway places.” Some cloud-watching leads to imagining “join[ing] the parade.” And while harvesting carrots (in the dark!), the child spots a
white rabbit in the moon and wants to share. A shooting star, some butterflies,
and a rainbow are more ordinary than the giant giraffes and less harmful than
the balloon release that finds the child wondering if one might carry a note
aloft. The ending is a bit out-of-the-blue. Although her pup appears in each
scene, there’s been no interaction between the two, so the child’s declaration that
“everything that makes me HAPPY is right here in front of me” rings a little
false. It’s exemplary (and rather noteworthy) that only two scenes are indoors.
Background people have diverse skin tones while the child has a red dress,
peach skin, a dark pageboy, and bright red cheeks and nose. Indeed, the
illustrations are a bit stylized and odd, with humans who mostly have noses
that range from pink to bright red, almost clownlike, especially when paired
with too-small cone-shaped hats with pompoms on top, as several people sport.

Wish,
imagine, wonder, hope, dream…and choose a different book about imaginative
flights of fancy and appreciating the here and now. (Picture book. 4-7)