"I am little," says Bentley's toddler narrator, who is in a ruminative mood. But what if he were bigger-really bigger-with legs like a giraffe, hands like a gorilla, or a mouth like a crocodile? Surely that would even the playing field with his coolly confident school-age brother. Bentley's (Audrey's Tree House) reverie is gorgeous to look at, with a playfully dramatic sense of contrasting scale that makes the boy's yearning both funny and poignant. The digitally enhanced watercolor and pencil drawings, rendered in colors that have the translucence of Jell-O, mingle the casual chaos of everyday domestic life (floors strewn with books and toys) with manifestations of the child's vivid fantasies, as when he imagines himself riding bareback and no-hands on a sumptuously spotted giraffe that gallops across two pages, while his brother pedals pitifully behind on a two-wheeler. Such are the visual glories of the book that it's easy to forgive the less-than-credible reconciliation between the siblings and the narrator's too neat summation of his newfound self-esteem: "Little legs, little hands, little mouth. Perfectly little." Ages 3-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A little one tries to imagine himself big in this picture-book treatment of sibling dynamics. A little child longs to be big like his brother but fails at attempts to lift his sibling's backpack and to reach the cookie jar. These small defeats prompt him to imagine that he's as tall as a giraffe, with hands as big as a gorilla's and a mouth as big as a crocodile. Through first-person narration, he imagines what such attributes would empower him to do, but he also realizes that he'd miss out on other things if he were biglike rides in the red wagon, playtime in his playhouse, and after-dinner stories from that big brother of his. Such self-awareness seems developmentally out of step with the very young age of the narrator, however emotionally satisfying it may feel. Throughout the book the watercolor-and-pencil art outshines text as the story progresses and the big brother scares the little one, only to have roles reverse. The boys play together in the end, their littleness emerging as a boon when they appear underneath a makeshift fort of blankets and chairs and such. A sweet book that needs a little more oomph to make it a big hit. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-K-Young children are often frustrated when they cannot do the fun thing the big kids do. Bentley's sweet story about a little boy who envies his big brother may help. In first-person narration, a toddler imagines himself with characteristics of his stuffed giraffe, ape, and alligator. "With big legs like a giraffe, I could race my brother up the hill.and win." The downside is that he would no longer fit in his wagon. He experiments with an ape's bigger hands, useful for opening the cookie jar but not so good for fitting in his playhouse. By the end of the story, the tot accepts the parts of himself that are "perfectly little." Bentley's watercolor and pencil drawings invite readers into the mind of the child and his animated toy animals. This story has been told before, but there's always room for more gentle lessons about being happy with who we are. VERDICT A strong addition to collections serving preschool audiences.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence, RI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This modest meditation on being little speaks to anyone whos felt small and powerless; i.e., most preschoolers. I am little, a young narrator begins, and the first few double-page spreads let us know exactly how the child feels about this fact. Attempts to imitate big brotherwho blithely enjoys the perks of being bigger (helping himself to cookies on the counter, riding a bicycle)are unsuccessful. If only the narrator werent limited by little legs, little hands, little mouth. Inspired by three stuffed animals, the youngster indulges in a humorous flight of fancy, imagining the benefitsand drawbacksof animal attributes. With big gorilla hands, for example, the narrator could grab as many cookies as I wantedbut then wouldnt fit inside the playhouse. Sending big brother to bed early with a big mouth like a crocodile could be funbut who would tell me funny stories after dinner? Preschool audiences will be drawn in by Bentleys relatable, to-the-point text and expressive, cleanly composed art. The illustrations, a combination of watercolor, pencil, and scanned textures, play up the silliness as they show the tot alongside enormous friendly animals. When a big monster (with wooden-spoon antennae and swim-goggle eyes) appears, the small child is able to quietly hide in the playhouseuntil coming up with a way to scare the costume off the monster. The story follows a satisfying arc; the final illustration shows the siblings playing happily together on the little ones termsand, finally, with a cookie. kitty flynn(c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Watching enviously as his older brother consumes cookies at the kitchen table, a toddler muses about the advantages and disadvantages of his own diminutive stature. If he had big giraffe legs, he could beat his brother in a race . . . but he couldn't be pulled in a wagon. If he had big gorilla hands, he could open the cookie jar himself . . . but he couldn't get inside his tiny playhouse to eat them. If he had a big crocodile mouth, he could order his brother to his room . . . but he would miss all the great stories his brother tells. Eventually he concludes that the status quo is perfect for him. This simple yet imaginative story is enhanced by sunny mixed-media artwork, especially wordless spreads featuring a monster-costumed older brother chasing the gleeful protagonist and rewarding him with cookies and a wagon ride. This makes a good choice for toddler storytimes, especially paired with Pat Hutchins' classic Titch (1971).--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2015 Booklist