As I had mentioned in my safety day post we were recently sent a cute little book for review, Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again, written by Ginger Pate, published by Greene Bark Press.
In this story, Wally Waddlewater (shown on the cover) sets out to mail a letter to his grandma. In the process, he nearly gets run over by the busy traffic!! So, he and his mom go through town to the mail box. At each road, they use the phrase 'look left, look right, look left again.' By the end of the story, Wally has learned how to cross the street alone and even yells the instructions to a friend who is about to run into traffic.
This cute little book is a brightly colored, board book that measures about 7 inches by 7 inches. The story line is simple, but very cute. Author Ginger Pate does a great job of putting in onomatopoeias to help the story come alive. The dialog between mom and Wally is just right, too. This really was a fun story to read aloud, and it kept the attention of all four of my children-ages 1 to 7. During our safety day we read other books, but this was the only one that they all sat quietly for, waiting to see what would happen to Wally, and looking forward to the next time they could help him say 'look left, look right, look left again.'
I can't count how many times I've come across Mustang saying 'look left, look right, look left again' just randomly on her own. Apparently the phrase is very catchy to her and she likes to say it. Many games have been played with our cars and little people that they have had to 'look left, look right, look left again.'
We crossed the street in town last week, and all the kids were quick to tell each other to 'look left, look right, look left again'. They even made sure to do it when crossing our little dirt road to the mailbox.
Since we live in the middle of nowhere, it isn't often we get to practice learning about busy roads. I am very glad we got a chance to read this book, because it gave my children a chance to 'see' how busy roads can be, even from the end of a dirt road. And, because of it, they are learning how to be safe when they DO go to a busy road.
The content, pictures, and quality of Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again by Ginger Pate is certainly worth the $8.50 price tag in my opinion. It would make a great gift for any little person on your list!
You can see what the rest of the crew thought by checking out the Schoolhouse Crew blog.
