About This Book:
Every single day holds so many possibilities—how do you choose what to do when you wake up? Award-winning author Seth Fishman and acclaimed illustrator Jessixa Bagley introduce a young child and four different paths for their day in this inventive and original picture book that recognizes the imagination, courage, and independence of every child.
When an imaginative young child wakes up before their parents, they know that they’re supposed to stay in bed until the clock says 7:00. But that’s no fun—so what should they do instead? Make breakfast? Build a city? Ride a scooter? Dig in the garden?
Each choice leads to a different path for the day. And in the end, the child makes the best decision of all—to curl up, safe and loved, between Mom and Dad.
When I Wake Up begins in black-and-white, and then each of the child’s four choices is rendered in a different color. Every spread includes all four choices, so readers can enjoy this book traditionally, reading all four colors at once, or they can choose one color to follow from beginning to end.
Jessixa Bagley’s masterful and ingenious artwork beautifully complements Seth Fishman’s lyrical text that celebrates imagination, creativity, independence, and love. When I Wake Up begs to be read over and over again—and can change every time. Both children and parents will enjoy sharing this timeless story—no matter when they wake up or what time the clock says.
*Review Contributed by Olivia Farr, Staff Reviewer*
picture book about decision-making
WHEN I WAKE UP tells the story of a young boy who wakes up before his parents, when the world is still dark. He knows that he is not supposed to get up until 7am, but he thinks about all the things he could do if he gets up now, such as eat a bunch of marshmallows, ride a scooter down the alley and climb a tree, or work in his mother’s garden. Each scenario is told a sentence at a time, through color-coded images, with all 4 imagined on each page spread.
What I loved: This is an imaginative story of thinking through decisions and the consequences of those decisions, as the child thinks about what would happen if he eats too many marshmallows or falls on the tree and scrapes a knee. Ultimately, he decides to climb into bed with his parents and get back to sleep. The illustrations capture each statement well, and the colors delineate each possible storyline, which is an interesting touch.
What left me wanting more: The book requires a few readings to really figure out and follow the different storylines, since they are all told in parallel. Even as an adult, it took me a while to follow each of them and figure out how they were separated. This may work better when read one color at a time. I was also troubled by the possibility of some of the scenarios, which could be dangerous for young readers (leaving the house during the night, climbing trees alone when no one knows where you are, etc.). I was also troubled by the eating marshmallows in the closet (which the child says their parents do), which seems to indicate disordered eating patterns.
Final verdict: A story of possibility, WHEN I WAKE UP explores decision making in an intriguing picture book format.
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