Bigger! Bigger!

Hooray! Hooray! Again! Again!

Toddler-PreS--This deceptively simple story stars a little pigtailed girl in a hard hat building progressively larger buildings, initially from blocks. But after the first page, the illustrations enter her imagination, as she builds a dog house ("Big!"), a house ("Bigger!"), skyscrapers ("Bigger! Bigger!") and ultimately a whole city ("Biggest!"), which is then knocked down by an enormous, bald baby in a diaper ("Boom! Boom! Crash!"). Her fantasy crashes down with the buildings and she is left with a pile of blocks and downcast expression, until the baby holds out a block in offering and the book ends with them building cooperatively ("Stronger! Stronger!") The story is told almost entirely with illustrations, and just single words of text. Patricelli's trademark round-faced, oval eyed tots are in full evidence here, with lots of primary colors and textured pastel-style art. She emphasizes the increase in size of the buildings both by switching points of view and increasing the size of the font. The story is quite simple, but youngsters will need to make the leap to fantasy. The idea of building is always popular, and the concepts of forgiveness and cooperation are imbedded seamlessly into the story. VERDICT Patricelli fans, teachers looking to explain concepts of size and behavior, as well as libraries looking for simple books that leave lots of room for interpretation will find a lot to enjoy here. A worthwhile addition.--Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Readers may see that the baby bears a striking resemblance to the tot featured in Patricelli's board book series, and they will doubtlessly realize that here the baby is the girl's little sibling, wreaking havoc on her block play. The story shifts back to reality as baby tries to make amends and the big sister generously welcomes collaborative play...Hooray! Hooray! Again! Again!
—Kirkus Reviews

There's a lot to admire here, from the vivid re-creation of the child's imaginative play to her self-possession in taking on her new role: big sister. The pithy text builds in intensity until the crash, followed by two wordless spreads and the final one: "Stronger! Stronger!" Bold, black lines define the images in the sturdy, expressive acrylic paintings. A worthy sequel to Higher! Higher! (2009) and Faster! Faster! (2012).
—Booklist Online

Thickly outlined figures and gleaming colors work well for group sharing, and hints of canvas that bleeds through the acrylic paints add texture and dimension. This celebrates the pleasures of playing alone and together, of indulging imagination and reveling in reality—worthwhile activity at day care, at preschool, or at home.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The minimal text, bright color palette, and textured acrylic paintings with thick black outlines create a book appropriate for sharing both one-on-one and with groups.
—The Horn Book