Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli

Higher!  Higher!  by Leslie Patricelli
Rating: 4.5 stars

There isn't a whole lot to this book, but I think that--plus some wonderfully clear and bright illustrations--is what make Ben and Lorelei request it again and again and again.  Our kids are both swing-lovers (they got it in their DNA from beloved Grammy, I think); just this morning Ben was giggling himself silly at the playground when I was pushing him, and then stopping him suddenly, then starting him up again in full swing.  Whiplash?  Oooh...hadn't thought of that.  As Lorelei would say, "Next time, I'll be more careful."

Anyway, this book is adorable.  A little girl and her father walk to the playground and she requests, "Higher!  Higher!"  ("Add a please, please!" I want to add.)  Despite the lack of a "please," he pushes her higher, and she soars as high as a giraffe, then as high as a rooftop, then as high as the Himalayas, past an airplane, into space.  Then she meets a martian, who is on a swing, shouting "Higher!  Higher!" just like she is...from Mars!  How fun!  They greet each other, share a high five, say good-bye, and she wordlessly floats back to real-swinging-range, back to the playground.

A very cute book.  I can't imagine any kid not loving it!  If it had a please or two, I'd have given it a 5.  I'm feeling stingy with my stars today.