Book of the Week: Inside Outside

Inside Outside

by Lizi Boyd

Published by Chronicle, 2013
40 pages
ISBN: 9781452106441

Ages 2-5


A child engages in seasonal and creative activities both inside and outside in a wonderful, wordless picture book in which each scene foreshadows things to come. The first full-page spread shows the child inside, getting ready to plant seeds in pots. Winter coat and scarf hang on the hook near the door; winter boots can be found midst the jumble of toys on the floor. Through the die-cut windows snowmen peek in. A turn of the page finds the child outside with the snowmen while the windows now frame a picture on the inside wall from the preceding page. Winter turns to spring then summer then fall in Lizi Boyd’s delightful offering that encourages prediction and inspires storytelling. It’s a pleasure to look for the various creatures that recur in every scene (dog, cat, two mice, and a turtle, for a start) and to follow the busy child’s myriad activities from one scene and season to the next. The whimsically detailed gouache illustrations were rendered on brown kraft paper, adding immense warmth to the already cozy scenes. (MS) ©2013 Cooperative Children’s Book Center