A group of kids painting pictures in what seems to be a school setting launches a series of playful day-dreams as they imagine what creature they might like to be "for just one day." The rhyming narrative marches through a smattering of wildlife fantasies featuring a bee, a crocodile, a chimpanzee, a butterfly, a snake and so forth. The upbeat rhymes are active and visual: "But what if I could swim the Nile / and be a creeping... / Crocodile! / I'd have the sharpest, snapping smile, / if I could be a crocodile." The book's downfall is a distance created between the characters and the readers. The group of kids painting in the beginning don't bear much resemblence to the children pictured throughout, creating a weak, unfulfilled visual narrative. Boutavant's funky modern/retro illustrations definitely add freshness, and any child will most likely be happy to play the game, but without a unified narrative, nothing's asking them to stick around. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Schoolchildren imagine themselves as chimps, whales and butterflies in this fantasy. The layout builds suspense, with ellipses preceding each page turn: "If I could have a spiky spine/ I'd get to be a.../ porcupine!" thinks a girl as she brushes her unruly hair and then, in animal form, has luxurious spines combed by a patient bunny. The children's choices sometimes improve their lives, as when a nerdy boy walks past two teasing kids: "For just one day, if I could dare,/ I'd be a growling grizzly.../ bear! I'd give my brother quite a scare,/ if I could be a grizzly bear." (As a bear, he cups the bullies-who have turned into mice-in his paw.) Evoking 1970s illustration, Boutavant's (All Kinds of Families!) eccentric digital art features lithographs' grainy textures, fine lines and saturated colors; his doe-eyed, bobble-headed characters resemble the kids from the "Love Is..." comic. Leuck (I Love My Pirate Papa) crafts bubbly if predictable verse; a mirror on the final page helps salvage a wordy conclusion about preferring "to be/ that special someone, that is.../ me!" Up to age 4. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this upbeat, rhyming title, kids in varying everyday scenarios imagine themselves as animals, from a bee to a bear. In one scene, for example, a girl in bunny ears says, My floppy ears might look quite funny / if I were a hopping . . . / bunny! On the next page, the girl, now a full rabbit, bounces through a flowery field. On another spread, a girl brushing her tousled, upright hair envisions herself as a porcupine. The text's rhymes, though predictable, will encourage participation, and younger children will enjoy guessing the creatures to come in the cartoonish, matte-color illustrations, which have an appealing, retro feel. After exploring the fun of fantasy, the book closes with a final, self-affirming message: it's good to be / that special someone . . . / me! A natural companion for Peter Sís' picture-book celebrations of imaginary play, such as Fire Truck (1998) and Madlenka (2000).--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2009 Booklist