Halfway to Your House

Pomerantz ( All Asleep ; Where's the Bear? ) charts the ordinary wishes and activities of preschoolers in low-key light verse, but the real voltage here is generated by Vincent's evocative art. Two friends agree to meet each other halfway between their houses, and will "decide about the other half / when we come to the halfway line." The narrator of a poem that begins "Peek-a-boo" complains that no one "can tell /who hides, /who seeks, / when everyone is / sneaking peeks." The 30 untitled verses sometimes disappoint with belabored attempts to imitate the voices of children: "I'd like to pat that cat, /that little kitty cat, /that itty bitty /soft and pretty / little kitty cat." Vincent's ( Ernest and Celestine ) engaging illustrations, originally published in France with a different text by Pili Mandelbaum, feature loosely wrought watercolor sketches with soft pencil outlines and pastel washes. Both cozy and animated, the pictures radiate a lively understanding of childhood. Ages 3-up.
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