Big Bug

It's all in the perspective when it comes to size, as demonstrated in this clever picture book. The first page opens on a hugely magnified ladybug, labeled "Big bug." Our view pulls back so we see the now-little ladybug resting on a "big leaf," all part of an ever-widening rural scene. Minimal text and richly colored illustrations add to the fun.

It's all in the perspective when it comes to size, as demonstrated in this clever picture book with minimal text and richly colored illustrations. The first page opens on a hugely magnified ladybug, labeled "Big bug." Our view pulls back so we see the same scene from a distance and observe the ladybug resting on a leaf ("Little bug. / Big leaf"). And then with another shift in perspective, it's a little leaf attached to a big flower, which in turn becomes a little flower sniffed by a big dog, all part of an ever-widening rural scene with a barn and farmhouse, under a big sky. Halfway through, the game changes, and instead of pulling back we go closer, right up to and inside the house. This time, however, rather than having the size comparison according to actual scale, it is instead relative to the position of the viewer. The "big tree," for example, is much larger than the "little barn," but only because we are closer to it. This second type of size comparison, based on spatial perspective, is much trickier for ers, as is the final comparison showing the dog sleeping on a couch ("Big dog. Little nap"). Here "little nap" may also refer to the one being taken by the ladybug sleeping on the dog's nose. Cole leaves it open to interpretation, which adds to both the challenge and the fun. kathleen t. horning