Outdoor Opposites

Six multiethnic children take an active approach to opposites while on a camping trip. Williams’s verse is meant to be sung (musical notation is included, as is a CD recording of a performance by the Flannery Brothers), and it invites readers to complete occasional rhymes: “I can run, or I can walk./ I can listen, or I can... talk!” The hands-on nature of the children’s activities (“I can jump in, or I can jump out”) and the recurring phrase “I am doing opposites” suggest opposites are something to be experienced firsthand, not just discerned or observed. Oldfield’s paintings feature rolling hills, friendly animals, and manicured trees, bringing a sense of calm and order to the surroundings as the children explore and play. Ages 3–7. (May)