SugarLoaf is good at many things. Here's what she's best at: Talking baby talk to her little sister Waking her dad up in the morning Painting portraits Growing big-girl teeth SugarLoaf's a very little girl with some very big ideas. Come play with her! PreSchool-Grade 2–SugarLoaf, a precocious kittenlike child (or childlike kitten), eagerly introduces readers to her family. Her world is one that listeners will recognize as she shares with them what she considers to be important: how she got her name, where she falls in the family order, her favorite color, her parents' occupations, etc. Her running monologue is reminiscent of many children's egocentric conversational style and allows Reynolds to throw in a handful of lines that will tickle the funny bone of both young and adult readers. My mom is a dentist for boys and girls. I'm growing teeth for her to take care of. The genial story can be shared with youngsters or read by beginning readers since the text is comprised of short, easy-to-read sentences with plenty of visual clues provided by the art. The cartoon illustrations contribute to the fun, expanding on SugarLoaf's statements and often painting a picture entirely different than her words alone imply. –Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. PreS-K. In a first-person voice, a little girl named SugarLoaf shares a peek into her family and favorite activities. She is so named by her dentist mom and baker dad because she looked sweet as sugar and felt warm as bread when she was born. The middle child between big brother Spoke and little sister SugarLump, she draws a lot, plays drums for her neighborhood (made of box-houses), and sails boats in puddles in the yard. The text isn't particularly distinctive. The real strength of this simple story, from the creator of The Dot (2003), lies in the capricious watercolors, which provide charm, whimsy, and winning characters. The sketchily shaped figures appear human except for their catlike ears. Children will easily connect with the last sentence, which puts SugarLoaf's world into perspective: "Some things are big and small at the same time. Like me!" More books about the engaging SugarLoaf are promised. Julie Cummins Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Peter H. Reynolds is the bestselling author and illustrator of I’m Here , The Dot , and Ish ; and illustrator for the #1 New York Times bestseller Someday by Alison McGhee. He is also the illustrator of Going Places , Little Boy , Charlie and Kiwi , and the Judy Moody series. He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, where he is co-owner of the Blue Bunny bookstore. Visit Peter at PeterHReynolds.com. My Very Big Little World A SugarLoaf Book By Peter H. Reynolds Atheneum Copyright © 2005 Peter H. Reynolds All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-689-87621-9 Chapter One I draw a lot. I use my favorite color. It's Gramma's favorite color too. I am not the biggest or the smallest in my family. My brother is really big. My sister is really small. I'm right in the middle. (Continues...) Excerpted from My Very Big Little World by Peter H. Reynolds Copyright © 2005 by Peter H. Reynolds. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.