Inch by Inch
Written: Jul 22 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting story
Cons: illustrations
The Bottom Line: Inch by Inch is a great book to help kids develop thinking skills!
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| hadona's Full Review: Leo Lionni - Inch by Inch |
I’m surprised to see that this is the first epinion written on the book, Inch by Inch. Inch by Inch was first published over 40 years ago, is a Caldecott Honor Book (awarded for excellence in illustrations), and is a popular favorite among educators, parents, and children.
The Story
The story is about an emerald green inchworm, who, one day, is spotted by a robin. The robin thinks the inchworm would make a delightful breakfast and goes to gobble him up. In his defense, the inchworm tells the robin that he is a very useful inchworm! He can measure things! So the robin asks him to measure his tail. Five whole inches! The robin thinks this is exciting and asks the inchworm to come back to the bird community with him to measure things for the other birds. Surprisingly, the inchworm agrees and measures the neck of the flamingo, the toucan’s beak, the legs of the heron, the tail of the pheasant, and a whole hummingbird. One morning, the inchworm met a nightingale. The nightingale wanted him to measure his song. The inchworm tried to explain that he couldn’t measure a song and the nightingale threatened to eat him if he didn’t! And then the inchworm had an idea. He told the nightingale to start singing, and the inchworm inched and inched and inched until he inched out of sight.
The Illustrations
As I mentioned earlier, this book was awarded with the Caldecott Honor Medal. Personally, I don’t see the greatness in these illustrations. I think it’s one of those things where the critics and experts agree that it is wonderful, but the general public doesn’t “see it”. The illustrations are simplistic, and remind me of another popular author’s work, Eric Carle, whom I don’t care for, either.
This Story is Great for Parents
All of the Early Childhood Educator “experts” tell parents to ask their children questions about the story and pictures as they are reading it to them. This will help children try to think ahead and develop problem-solving skills, as well as think of their own stories to go along with the pictures. This is wonderful for their growing imaginations! Inch by Inch is a great story for this exercise, as it does not come out and directly say, “the inchworm inched out of sight so the nightingale wouldn’t eat him.” This is something that kids will eventually figure out, and hopefully sooner than later, if you’re asking the “right” questions. All in all, Inch by Inch is a good thinking tool!
A Story the kids will enjoy!
I asked my 5 year old daughter why she like Inch by Inch. Her response was simply, “the inchworm.” Maybe she realizes that the inchworm is of great intelligence and quick wit, or maybe that is the only thing that she can remember about the book. It’s my opinion that kids like to read this story and every other story simply for the one on one time with Mom or Dad. My kids do enjoy the illustrations. They love to find the tiny inchworm in the big page of pictures. I’m not sure if my kids have figured out exactly what the inchworm does in the end, but I will continue to ask them questions and hopefully, they’ll figure it out soon!
Overall
I believe that Inch by Inch would make a great addition to any children’s home library. It is a short book to read to the kids, but it is long on quality time!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hadona
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Location: Idaho
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
Just taking a break from Epinions for a bit! Be back soon!
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