Review: I Can Be Anything by Shinsuke Yoshitake

I CAN BE ANYTHING

by Shinsuke Yoshitake

Chronicle Books

Picture Book

 56 pages

ages 4 to 8

A laugh-out-loud guessing game bedtime book!

It's time for bed, but Natsumi has a brilliant idea, even better than going to sleep: She'll pretend to be something and Mom will guess what she is! Ready?

Is she a caterpillar?
An arrow sign?
An upside-down bug?

Take your best guess, then laugh along with Natsumi and her mom as they play a pre-bedtime game of charades full of silliness and surprises!

• A delightfully silly read-aloud book for young children that helps soften bedtime routines
• Part picture book, part guessing game! The interactive nature will keep kids turning the page!
• Perfect book for toddlers

Fans of Guess Again, Interrupting Chicken, and Max and the Won't Go to Bed Show will love the clever kid-friendly humor of I Can Be Anything.

       

MY TIDBITS

When bedtime hits, so does a ton of energy as this girl spins into a whirlwind of the 'Guess what I am' game.

Any parent who has reached the end of a long day and is looking forward to a moment's rest before their child's bedtime will smile at this read. And young listeners will be inspired by the child's very imagination rich game...or maybe, they'll get ideas of their own and want to play, too. (Which may or may not be a good thing).

The child in this book is a real ball of energy, and her enthusiasm will draw more than just a good feeling or two. It's fun to watch her attempt to act out or portray various things, while the mother has no chance of guessing what she is. Young listeners can try to guess along...and I'm betting they won't get it right most of the time. Which will draw giggles and astounded 'huhs'.  For anyone who isn't entrenched in the Asian culture, this won't only be a learning lesson about a few things (meso soup, Mount Fuji, etc) but might need some explanation.

The illustrations are simple and yet, expressive. It's fun to flip through and watch the guessing-game antics as the main character does her best to act out different things in so many ways. This is a read tired parents will appreciate more than young readers. But that's not necessarily a negative thing, since it makes it more fun to read while putting a child to bed.

And here he is...

Shinsuke Yoshitake is the author-illustrator of The Boring Book and The I Wonder Bookstore and the creator of many award-winning picture books. His books have been translated into more than 8 languages. He lives in Japan.