What Will These Hands Make?

This celebration of citizenry and craft is a poignant reminder of the objects and places that makers weave. As a family prepares for a loved one's birthday party, the titular question becomes a refrain, exemplified by a litany of handmade items, listed and shown, that a family encounters nearby ("a teacup for a child/ a bowl round and shiny") and within their neighborhood streets ("a sidewalk safe/ a haven for others"). Signature cut-paper scenes by McClure (The Great Chicken Escape) are dynamic--set upon a background evocative of kraft paper, minimal spot color (red, white, brown, yellow) guides the eye through the busy pages, highlighting the family's house, a person's white hair, a hand-sewn pillow, and other special items. Spreads spotlight McClure's painstaking detail and expand the family's world into a thrumming community full of artisans indoors and out: gardeners, bakers, and performers alike. The book's appeal spans a wide range: younger readers will enjoy the seek-and-find aspect, and older readers may find inspiration in its vision of daily life and communal innovation. An elegant reflection on the provenance of everyday items. Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 1--Themes of community, creativity, and craft are at the heart of this book about a family preparing for a grandmother's birthday celebration. With the repetitive question of "What will these hands make?," a young girl explores all the possibilities of what hands can make. The child repurposes a worn sweater into an imaginative fish-shaped pillow before going out to the larger world, where a variety of handmade items are mentioned, from a knitted hat for baby, a bench, and a cake to things such as sidewalks, bicycles, and bridges. McClure's (How to Be a Cat) signature art made from black paper with an exacto knife on a tan background is sprinkled with images of a variety of people doing hands-on projects. Pages alternate between text and wordless red-and-white spreads that give opportunities for contemplation on all the things in our world that hands can make. The language can be a bit stilted at times, and McClure breaks from her previous pattern at the end to ask questions like "Will these hands make a safe place to be?," "Will these hands make a community?," and "What will your hands make?" VERDICT A good selection to inspire young makers and for fans of McClure's previous works.--Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR