Looking Down (Review by Leighanne Massey)
Bibliography
Jenkins, Steve. Looking Down. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. ISBN 0395726654
Plot Summary
Looking Down is a wordless picture informational book about the perspective of Earth from Space.
Critical Analysis
Jenkins' colorful and detailed cut-paper collage art takes the reader farther than words can in this wordless unique viewpoint of Earth from Space. With a reputation for worthwhile science books for children, Jenkins fascinates again as he expertly leads a journey from the Moon to Earth by placing the reader in the seat of a rocket ship. As Earth draws near, differing outlines of landforms, water, and clouds can be seen with consistent accuracy. As the reader zooms closer, aerial views of a farm town and river come alive before our very eyes until resting on a neighborhood, a house, and then eventually taking on the mindset of a little boy viewing a ladybug under a hand lens. The clever design and sequence of this picture book will draw in curious imaginations and questions from children almost certainly. It is a great conversation piece to utilize in a classroom environment. Jenkins concludes noting that the town used in the book is based loosely on many towns on the East Coast.
Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal:
"PreSchool-Grade 3-The Earth floats in space, a small blue marble, growing with each turn of the page. The North American continent swells until the streets of a (fictional) coastal town become visible, then a particular neighborhood; a dot on the sidewalk becomes a boy with a magnifying glass, viewing-what? A ladybug fills the last page. Using neat, sharp-edged paper collages and pure, simple colors, Jenkins convincingly conveys, better than most aerial photography, both a sense of height and an almost vertiginous feeling of movement in this wordless fall. Books with expanding rather than contracting scales, such as Istvan Banyai's Zoom (Viking, 1995) or the Hirsts' My Place in Space (Orchard, 1990) end on more cosmic notes, but younger readers will find this an exciting, eye-opening slide."
From Booklist:
"Ages 4-7. Jenkins' distinctive cut-paper collage illustrations take readers on a fascinating, wordless journey that begins with a look at the earth from outer space and ends with a close-up of a ladybug. The double-page spreads show progressively smaller aerial views of a coastline, a town, a street, and so on, until they finally zoom in on the ladybug as seen through the magnifying glass of a young girl. As with all wordless books, children can apply their own interpretation to the pictures to create a story that is uniquely theirs. The book can also be used by preschool and primary-grade teachers to introduce basic science vocabulary, and of course, it can simply be enjoyed as a work of art."
From Horn Book:
"Beautiful, engaging, and full of possibilities for discussion, the book will be a welcome addition to the collections of young science enthusiasts."
From School Library Journal:
"PreSchool-Grade 3-The Earth floats in space, a small blue marble, growing with each turn of the page. The North American continent swells until the streets of a (fictional) coastal town become visible, then a particular neighborhood; a dot on the sidewalk becomes a boy with a magnifying glass, viewing-what? A ladybug fills the last page. Using neat, sharp-edged paper collages and pure, simple colors, Jenkins convincingly conveys, better than most aerial photography, both a sense of height and an almost vertiginous feeling of movement in this wordless fall. Books with expanding rather than contracting scales, such as Istvan Banyai's Zoom (Viking, 1995) or the Hirsts' My Place in Space (Orchard, 1990) end on more cosmic notes, but younger readers will find this an exciting, eye-opening slide."
From Booklist:
"Ages 4-7. Jenkins' distinctive cut-paper collage illustrations take readers on a fascinating, wordless journey that begins with a look at the earth from outer space and ends with a close-up of a ladybug. The double-page spreads show progressively smaller aerial views of a coastline, a town, a street, and so on, until they finally zoom in on the ladybug as seen through the magnifying glass of a young girl. As with all wordless books, children can apply their own interpretation to the pictures to create a story that is uniquely theirs. The book can also be used by preschool and primary-grade teachers to introduce basic science vocabulary, and of course, it can simply be enjoyed as a work of art."
From Horn Book:
"Beautiful, engaging, and full of possibilities for discussion, the book will be a welcome addition to the collections of young science enthusiasts."
Connections
Other Steve Jenkins books to check out:
- Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. ISBN 9780547512914
2004 Caldecott Honor Book:
- Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. ISBN 9780618997138
- Jenkins, Steve. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997. ISBN 9780395861363
Teachers can use Looking Down to share with their class to build curiosity of Earth and Space. It can even be used as a lesson opener for the planets and The Solar System.
Teachers can utilize the story Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? to teach animals, their characteristics, habitats, and size in a way children can understand.
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