The Think-Ups

by Claire Alexander (Author) Claire Alexander (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

When you can't go outside to play, it's time to call on your imagination--and summon all the marvelous creatures you can think up.

What's there to do when you're stuck inside on a rainy day? If you're like Kiki, with a big imagination, you teach your sister how to play the Think-Ups. It's easy: you take turns thinking up any animal you like (A bunny! A moose! An octopus! A koala!) and, just like that, that creature (or several of them) will appear. In a blink, your house will be overflowing with hopping, hungry, messy Think-Ups. Quick, Kiki! What are the rules for ending the game? A charming story about keeping boredom at bay, with sure appeal for little animal lovers and creative thinker-uppers.

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Kirkus

Alexander's exuberant text lends itself perfectly to reading aloud. . . Kiki and Anna's rapidly shifting emotional extremes are dead-on and offer additional points for discussion. . . . A deftly executed homage to the power children possess to imagine away a dreary day.

Publishers Weekly

It's raining, to the dismay of two children, but pale-skinned Kiki, who sports a pair of bunny ears, has an idea: "We could play the Think-Ups!" she says. "All you have to do is think up a Think-Up and it will appear!" Her first attempt conjures a number of bunnies, which hop around the rug. "I'll be Kiki Flower Blossom the vet, and you can be Bob, my helper!" she tells Anna, who has light brown skin. In no time at all the house is filled with more Think-Ups: a moose ("Just one, but a very large one"), "wriggling, giggling octopuses," and hungry koalas who gnaw on everything in sight. Kiki pays less attention to the outcomes than does Anna, who has her own desires and realizes that things are getting out of hand: "Oh, Kiki! What have you done?... And please stop calling me Bob!" Fortunately, Kiki's just as practiced at getting out of trouble as she is getting into it. Digital spreads by Alexander (A Little Bit Different) utilize charcoal-style outlines and soft colors to render a sweet visual idiom in chaotic domestic scenes. A fast-moving story with two high-spirited heroes, Alexander's tale prizes imagination, creativity, and quick thinking. Ages 3-7. (Jan.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1--While waiting at home for the rain to end, dark-haired Anna and blond Kiki get tired of their usual indoor games, such as hide-and-seek and snakes and ladders. To keep boredom at bay, Kiki suggests they play "The Think-Ups." "All you have to do is think up a Think-Up and it will appear!" With this simple rule, the girls take turns summoning imaginary animals. Bunnies, koalas, octopuses, and even a giant moose appear and entertain the children while wreaking humorous havoc around the house. When the chaos crescendos, Kiki conveniently thinks. "All Gone," and peace is seemingly restored, the sun comes out, and the girls head outside with the promise of more high jinks from a "you-can't-catch-me-lion." Alexander's sweetly cartoonish illustrations are very funny, though neither they nor the text resolves the ambiguity of whether the entire mess was real or imaginary, nor is there parental presence of any kind. VERDICT Not an essential purchase, this delightful and imaginative romp will have readers giggling and wishing for Think-Ups of their own.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Lib., Boston Univ.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"The premise of an imagination run amok is a tried-and-true storytime winner, and this hits all the right notes from the lively pace to the familiar context to the toylike animals. . . . Rambunctious youngsters will appreciate the cheerful energy here." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 

Claire Alexander
Claire Alexander is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. She studied fine arts at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury, England. In addition to her picture book work, Claire is a portrait painter and teaches courses in picture-book making at the House of Illustration in London. Claire Alexander lives in London.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9781536220124
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
February 08, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Imagination
Play
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 12/01/21

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