I am wriggly

Some stories encourage quiet listening, but books can also call for moving around and being silly. This latest I Am installment (I Am Happy; I Am Hungry) centers on a wide-eyed pink bunny with a lot of pent-up energy to release. "I am wriggly. REALLY wriggly. Wriggly, wriggly, wriggly." Spot art shows this energy building as the narrator begins to shimmy, tap its feet, and then start hopping. The activity ramps up from there. The creature wriggles its body and then starts adding toys, utensils, and furniture into the game. By the end, the combination of narrative action and increasingly colorful and lively mixed-media illustrations shows this bunny working itself into a frenzy of wriggles: "I can't stop wriggling, I can't stop giggling." The situation finally peaks, and the rabbit suddenly recognizes that it can stop when it wants and take a little rest. An opening "Note to Grown-Ups" encourages using this story to initiate play and explore language with children as a means for self-expression. From start to finish, the snappy text and large, bold art effortlessly facilitate audience participation through prompts for physical activity and verbal engagement. A smart choice for a wriggly toddler storytime or for anytime when releasing some extra wriggles might lead to better self-awareness and an expanded way to appreciate books. Julie RoachJuly/August 2024 p.113 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This little pink bunny has energy to spare! "I'm SO wriggly… / my whiskers wiggle, / my ears jiggle." Our young narrator wriggles on a chair and with a stuffed bear. The bunny wriggles all over the ground, makes a commotion with a cup of spoons, and plays with balloons. "I juggle my socks, / I wiggle in a box." The little one plays with toys, pops in and out of a magician's top hat, and "[drums] out a beat." "If I don't stop, I think I'll burst. / But you know what? / I think I'll stop first." In this fourth tale in his I Am series, Rosen celebrates a child's seemingly boundless zest for life. Instead of getting into trouble for being too antsy, the bunny--a stand-in for squirmy, fidgety little ones everywhere--takes joy in bouncing, hopping, and, well, wriggling. A note to grown-ups at the outset tells them to encourage children to play while reading: "If you can think of new rhymes, new ways to play with the words, do it!" Starling's cheery, bright illustrations of a big-eyed bunny in motion, set against plain backdrops, are, once more, engaging and silly--a perfect match for the brief yet exuberant text. Young readers with wriggles to burn will identify and come up with their own ways to express themselves. An enthusiastic romp certain to please the endlessly energetic. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.