My Hand

PreS-K—Kitamura uses his familiar character, Boots the cat, to introduce very young readers to some of the things a hand can do. Boots runs toward a large illustration of a single hand as the unseen narrator begins, "This is my hand. It can do all sorts of things." On subsequent pages, Boots is the recipient of what that hand does. It can "push" Boots, "pull" his tail, and "tickle" and "stroke" him. It can "draw," "walk" with two fingers, "point" Boots to the door, and "wave" to him through the window. Kitamura's ink and watercolor cartoon illustrations use orange-colored Boots's expressions and body language as well as background arrows, lines, squiggles, and other designs to convey the meaning of the words. For example, for the words "It can push," Kitamura depicts the hand pushing against Boots as the animal, feeling the force of the push, balances on two legs while looking askance at the offending hand. Background arrows push against each other as well. Squiggles accompany a painting of the feline, eyes closed in delight, mouth wide open in a grin as the hand tickles his belly. On another spread, Boots, tail up, is ready to pounce on a mouse the hand is drawing.