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'You Can Do It, Sam'
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[FEB.
4, 2004]
"You
Can Do It, Sam," by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram, Candlewick
Press, 2003, 30 pages, ages 2 to 6
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Review by Louella Moreland
It is a snowy winter morning on Plum
Street. Sam and Mrs. Bear are baking cakes. So begins this new
adventure of Sam and his mother. We follow them through their day as
they stir, taste, pour, check the oven, bag the cakes and load them
into their green truck to deliver them to neighbors. We ride along
the snowy street to stop at each neighbor's door to leave a red bag
containing "a tasty surprise" on each friend's doorstep. We
experience their contented exhaustion as they return home just as
the sun begins to rise.
The contrasts in this tale make the
story so real! The sky is dark and heavy with snow. The kitchen of
their little white house is cozy and cheerful. Sam's red boots, coat
and bag make us glad to see such cheerful color against the new
snow. We shiver as we watch him making tracks to the neighbor's
door.
There are only two pages where we see
him "all by himself" instead of in the security of his mother's
presence. We can see the hesitancy in his walk and the uncertainty
in the expression on his face. We experience his relief as he slides
into the safety of the truck cab once more.
[to top of second column in
this review]
 |
 We are also treated to that special
feeling of coming home to a warm fire after being out into the cold,
sharing a tasty cake and hot cocoa while watching the snow continue
to fall outside the window. What a sense of security that can bring
to our minds!
Amy Hest's book is a warm fuzzy hug on
a cold, gray winter day. The illustrations by Anita Jeram dot the
winter landscape with bold primary color. We see the snow, smell the
cakes and feel the wind as it whips Mrs. Bear's scarf behind her.
Smudges on Mrs. Bear's apron, eggshells scattered across the kitchen
table and soap bubbles rising from the sink all combine to bring to
the reader's mind our own mother's kitchen.
"You Can Do It, Sam" is a story of
sharing a simple task, a story of sharing with others and a story of
sharing love between a mother and son. It is also a story about
growing big enough to be trusted to do a task "all by yourself." It
is a quiet, comforting story that makes the reader warm inside.
Take a
minute or two from your busy day to snuggle up in a comfortable
chair and share this book or others like it with a special little
someone in your life. For this book or others by Amy Hest, visit us
at the Lincoln Public Library, 725 Pekin St.
[Louella Moreland, youth services librarian,
Lincoln
Public Library District] |
