My Pictures after the Storm

This hugely amusing concept book brings a fresh perspective to ‘before and after’ and helps the very young appreciate the dynamic nature of both everyday experience and the world of the imagination.  Things are not static but ever changing and re- shaping.  There are sixteen spreads with people and objects seen against different, often intensely coloured backgrounds.  The ‘before’ images are calm and give a dramatic contrast with the ‘after’ images which include themes like ‘after the storm’, ‘after lunch’ and ‘after some magic’.  The ‘after the baby’ spread shows the overwhelming changes in a young child’s quiet world once his little sister is born and all the baby paraphernalia arrives.  His status has changed to ‘big brother’ and this is a scenario many young children will recognise.  The distinctive pictures with their clear definition are accompanied by brief but often witty annotation.  In the ‘after the night’ spread we see on the ‘before’ page a cat eyeing a fish and, on the right hand page, the text says  ‘no fish’  and ‘bad cat’   under the images of the empty fish bowl and  the smiling cat .  Both child and sharing adult will find this book delightfully playful and it is likely to lead to very interesting observations and discussions.