Now by Antoinette Portis

Abstract

Reviewed by: Now by Antoinette Portis Deborah Stevenson, Editor Portis, Antoinette Now; written and illus. by Antoinette Portis. Porter/Roaring Brook, 2017 [32p] ISBN 978-1-62672-137-1 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R 3-5 yrs Lyrical text expresses a young girl's joy in the things she's experiencing ("This is my favorite breeze./ This is my favorite leaf") and explains the reason ("That is my favorite cloud because it's the one I am watching"). In each case, it's clear that it's the iteration she's engaging with right now ("This is my favorite tree because it's the one where I am swinging") that's her favorite, which both speaks to the immediacy of experience and offers an interesting thinking point for young listeners about past and present. Portis sets up an effective simple narrative structure, with two short lines and one long one creating satisfying stanzas, and then adds touches of creative variation ("That was my favorite boat" shows a paper boat disappearing down a storm drain). While the end's turn to parent appreciation ("This is my favorite now because it's the one I'm having with you") is a less original direction, it provides the opportunity to end a lapsit with a cuddle. The art displays Portis' usual keen graphic sense, with each spread offering a measured palette, strongly lined fingers, and bountiful white space, making the view as open visually as the text is conceptually. Adults may gain second-hand mindfulness from sharing this spirited yet uncluttered embrace of the moment. [End Page 512] Copyright © 2017 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois