I Can Fly by Mary Blair

From the Publisher

A bird can fly. So can I. A cow can moo. I can too. Children will love to play along with this little girl, who imagines being any creature that walks, hops, flies, or swims. First published in 1950, this best-loved classic is brought back from the archives for a new generation to enjoy. Mary Blair’s bright, colorful art looks brand-new in this jacketed keepsake edition

Publishers Weekly

I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss, illus. by Mary Blair, first published in 1951, features another solitary child in imaginary play, but the tone here is sillier. A rhyming text boasts that the girl can do anything that a variety of animals can do; for example, as she eats celery: "Crunch crunch crunch/ I'm a goat out to lunch." The artwork contrasts her antics with the animals she imitates in flatly patterned, stylized shapes that owe much to 1950s-era animation. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Susan Hepler, Ph.D. - Children's Literature

A classic Golden Book from the Bank Street Collection, first published in 1951, is back, in a slightly oversize format to delight young readers with its view of all the things a little girl can do just like animals. A cow can moo. "I can too. I can squirm/like a worm. I can grab/like a crab." The cheerful paintings reflect the decade or their origin with smiling animals, fanciful backgrounds, patterned wallpaper, a girl in a series of dresses, and stylized flora. Snappy, patterned text invites young listeners to chime in and no doubt some families will chant such couplets as "Pitter pitter pat/I can walk like a cat" as they sneak up to bed so as not to wake the baby. The lame ending, "Gubble gubble gubble/I'm a mubble in a pubble/I can play/I'm anything that's anything./ That's MY way," is a letdown after the charming text, but children may appreciate the silliness over the stodgy text and the stumbling and flopping rhythm. 2003 (orig. 1951), Golden Books, Ages 2 to 5.

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