Hop, Hop, Jump!
By Lauren Thompson
Illustrated by Jarrett Krosoczka

McElderry
May 2012 / ISBN 9781416997450
Picture book, movement (ages 3-5)
Amazon

Reviewed by Bob Walch

This is one of those picture books for young children that make me wonder who approved the idea. Although the art is passable and captures the "action" concept, which I assume was the inspiration behind this book, the minimal text is certainly lacking in creativity.

"Move your body! Have some fun! Watch! We'll show you how it's done." OK, that accounts for the introductory pages. The accompanying illustration shows four kids movin' and groovin' off to camp. The rest of the book features nothing but a series of action words - wiggle it, waggle it, wave it, wing it, Hop, jump, shrug it, hug it," and on it goes! The "it" is usually identified as a body part such as the arm, shoulder, mouth, neck, etc.

Of course there are illustrations showing the camp kids demonstrating the featured moves. How nice, but unless you turned this book into an activity primer for a toddler who needs a little exercise, what can you do with this collection of wiggles and waggles, hops and pops?

I'm afraid one section that appears toward the end of the book captures my reaction to this picture book - "Flip, flap, FLOP!"