The Line Up Book

I know many young children who love to line up their toys this way. This picture book about a boy finishing his line-up before he comes to lunch is absolutely darling. Marisabina Russo always writes such gentle, loving stories, and even in this one, when the mother has to ask the boy to "please come when I call you next time," the feeling of a kind, loving home is definitely there. My kids really enjoyed this book.

You know, you go about attempting to read every great and significant English language children's picture book and you end up getting a little bit... um... big headed. I know I sure do. If you met me at a fancy dinner party and asked me my opinion on early vs. late Dr. Seuss or the finer points of why "Rainbow Fish" is the worst title ever written, I'd happily treat you to an hours long speech on such topics. But then I come across a fabulous, and not particularly recent, picture book and I have to admit that when it comes to the great children's books of this or any age, I'm still as ignorant as I ever was or ever will be. "The Line Up Book", proved this fact to me yet again. It's a fabulous title. A fun, funny, frantic tale of how one boy with slight obsessive compulsive tendencies reaches his goal without compromising his beliefs. And when was this lovely little work published, might you ask? Why 1986, of course. So the fact that more people don't know it is a serious matter indeed. The very second that Sam dumps his blocks on the floor, he hears his mother calling him down for lunch. "Just a minute", he calls back. But a minute may be a little less time than he needs. Carefully, Sam lines up the blocks at strategic intervals, all the way to his bedroom door. "I need something else", he muses. Fortunately there are books nearby. These he lines up all the way to the bathroom. Next come bath toys. Then boots. Then cars and trucks. But a short distance from the kitchen door (where his mother is growing increasingly irate at being ignored) Sam finds he's stuck. There's nothing more to line up and he hasn't reached his goal. Fortunately, when lying his full length and stretching, Sam juuuust reaches the door with his body. And his mother, while requesting that in the future, "please come when I call you", is very proud of her well-organized son. There's a lot to like here. If you've a preschooler who likes their drama on a small small scale, "The Line Up Book" is ideal. The tension heightens as Sam's mother keeps yelling and threatening to count to three. His search in desperation for something else to line up is real and intense. Only with this nice ending (and understanding mama) does the book work as well as it does. Sam and his mother are an amiable crew. She sports a nice multi-patterned sweater, and he a lovely pair of violet overalls. I also loved the last picture in the story. There, at the table, Sam and mom smile at one another over their sandwiches and soup. Nothing more really needs to be said, and that's a-okay. No, it's not going to earn itself any long thesis papers by kiddie lit scholars. But "The Line Up Book" is on the New York Public Library's list of "100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know" for 2004/05, and I for one approve heartily of its inclusion. It's a dear little book. The kind that everyone can love and few will find a drop of fault with. The very definition of sweet.

Oh Marisabina. She managed to tell a simple story as a great triumph. We obsessed on this book for years and STILL say in our house "I need something else.." Perfect pictures. Perfect book.