Book Review #28: ONCE UPON A SATURDAY written and illustrated by Leslie Lammle

ONCE UPON A SATURDAY

written and illustrated by

Leslie Lammle

Pub. Date: January 2009

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Hardcover, 32pp

Sales Rank: 654,472

Age Range: 5 to 8

ISBN-13: 9780061251900

ISBN: 0061251909

Description (from the publisher):
It's Saturday at last—no school, no homework, no lessons. The days belongs to June. She can search for wild animals, learn how to fly, or maybe even discover long-lost treasure. But before she is free to enjoy her day, June must face one big problem: her list of chores! Luckily, the only thing bigger than June's list of chores is her imagination, and she finds that with a little ingenuity even humdrum activities like eating her breakfast, sweeping the leaves, and cleaning her room can become an adventure.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

My Thoughts:
ONCE UPON A SATURDAY is a delightful picture book about a little girl overwhelmed by her Saturday list of chores and anxious to get to the part of the day when she can do what she wants to do. She wakes up early, full of excitement for a day of no school, and thinks of all the things she would like to do -- search for wild animals, learn to fly, find lost treasure. But her list of chores must be completed first and, every time she looks at that list, it seems to grow . . . and grow . . . and GROW! Little June doesn't shirk her duties, though. As she industrially tackles each chore, she uses her wild imagination - the one that makes each task seem insurmountable, to cut that monstous chore down to size. During the course of her work, she actually does encounter wild animals, learns to fly, and discovers lost treasure.

My 6-year-old niece and I both fell in love with this book. Its sweet and fun, and the illustrations are wonderfully colorful and detailed. E-Girl-G enjoyed studying the pictures and seemed to discover something new upon each reading. We borrowed our copy from the library and she kept asking if it was a book we got to keep. I told her, No, but I've heard that Santa Clause is coming to town . . .

Sweet and imaginative -- highly recommended.

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Leslie Lammle is an artist whose primarily watercolor and pencil illustrations have appeared frequently in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and various magazines. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Click here to visit the author's website.