Title: I’m Only Three … and look at all the things that I can do!
Author: Harmon S. Graves
Illustrator: Scot Ritchie
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-4349-3729-2
Pages: 36
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book / Music
Reviewer: Beth Adams
Hollywood Book Reviews
Embedded in this creative and beautifully artistic book is the title song, “I’m Only Three,” which is scored to a children’s choral music theme with melody and lyrics. Although the sheet music is published inside this book, I wanted to listen to the song. So in my desire to hear the music I went to the author’s website and was pleased to not only hear the song, but to see a link to the book’s trailer on YouTube. It became evident that a lot of original effort has been made into the creation of this book.
I’m Only Three … and look at all the things that I can do! is an adorable synergy of illustrations and text captioning the little accomplishments of a three-year-old. What can they do? Well, you could “count to 9 and do it just fine; roll down a hill and get up feeling ill; you can dance and sing ‘till your mom’s ears ring” … and so on. My favorite one was how you can, “Hold a shell to your ear and bring the ocean so near…” Each of these little snippets of the life of a three-year-old brings happiness and fun into an exciting moment of self-awareness and accomplishment.
The original artwork by illustrator Scot Ritchie is worthy of further mentioning. Using what appears to be watercolors brings a softness to each picture. The galley text written by author Harmon S. Graves uses a nurturing beat and rhyme – perfect to create a poetic accompaniment theme to each picture. By paging this book, children will be lulled into a world of self-awareness of the capabilities of their age and may in fact have them wish to go to the beach, or roll down a hill, or sing and dance – as enjoyed in the activities by the characters in this book.
Subtly instilling confidence in children by entertaining them within the sequence of events, I’m Only Three … is both an ideal bedtime book as well as a healthy psychological reinforcement for child development. Furthermore, if a parent can also play for the child the song linked on the Internet, the youngsters will hear the combined voices of a chorus of children, further impacting by the creative undercurrent subliminally behind all of the creative elements of this book.
I’m Only Three … and look at all the things that I can do! is a great gift for a family with newborns, or for a baby shower. I recommend the electronic version of this title, as the music adds such a fun layer or enjoyment. Although, if you know how to read music and have a ukulele, then by all means play the melody and sing, having your children sing along. This book is a must-have for parents looking to instill confidence in their little ones.