Thursday, August 27, 2020

Review - Three Squeezes

Three Squeezes
by Jason Pratt
illustrated by Chris Sheban
Date: 2020
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

When you could neither talk nor stand
life’s hourglass still filled with sand,
I gently held your tiny hand
and gave it three soft squeezes.

When you awoke within the night
And cried from fear and called for light,
I held you safe with all my might
and gave you three long squeezes.


Follow a father and his son from babyhood to baseball games to graduation and beyond in this loving saga about the unbreakable bond between generations.

A perfect gift, Three Squeezes is a tender, rhyming picture book that is an ode to the love between parent and child, no matter how old the child (or) parent is.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book has some lovely rhyming text and a nice sentiment. But I'm struggling to figure out who the audience is.

Do little children want to read books about becoming adults and watching their parents get old and decrepit? Do they care about how a parent feels watching their child grow up? I'm not sure the book is really a good match for kids. It obviously talks about something that other parents can understand... but how many adults really want to read picture books?

That said, it is well done. The verse is wonderful, with near-perfect metre. The illustrations are simple and a bit rough, but they work well with the text.

Overall, I'm just a bit confused about how to categorize it and who I'd recommend it to.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 3.14 out of 5

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