Together. Hazel Hutchins. Illustrated by Alice Priestley. Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 2009. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $8.95 (pbk.), $19.95 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-55451-207-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-55451-208-9x (hc.). Preschool / Ages 1-3. Review by Mary Thomas. **** /4

Doing things up--and undoing them again!--has an endless fascination for the very young. Therefore, a book full of clothes being held together in various ways as different children make their way to school should be a real winner, and it is. Then, near the end of the book, as the children are playing in the classroom, almost all the types of fasteners are present, ready to be pointed out and commented upon. The exceptional fastener is the velcro-ed hat strings, and since the hat is there, it is a pity that, merely for the sake of completeness, the ties are not in evidence. This is the only tiny quibble that I have with this otherwise charming book. The fact that the families are held together by hugs that bracket the day's activities is a cozy, comforting touch, as well as an instruction to the reader as to how to draw the book to a satisfactory conclusion for the listener.

     The text is full of action words for the vigorous actions shown beside them. Shoe laces don't just tie up your shoes; instead, they keep your feet from dancing out of them. Vivid and colourful, the pictures complement the text and will give great pleasure to reader and listener alike.

     Because the verso of the title page said merely that the images were 'digitally rendered,' I wrote to Alice Priestley to ask what that meant. Her reply was that, unlike her previous work which was usually watercolour washes completed with coloured pencil, these pictures had indeed been done entirely on the computer, 'using a Wacom pen and tablet and drawing freehand in Photoshop,' layering a watercolour effect and one creating pencil lines. The results of this treatment may differ from what she would have achieved with paper, paint, and pencil, but who cares! They work for the book.

Highly Recommended.

Mary Thomas works in an elementary school library in Winnipeg, MB, but is looking forward to sharing this book with her granddaughter at Christmas.

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