For being a very quick read, I think the reader should take their time reading. We should allow students to observe the pictures because there is more to them than the eye can quickly see. the artist was very careful in designing these pictures so that the pictures could speak for themselves if the words were not there. ( )

I personally didn't find this book to be anything special. From the first half of the book, I expected the story to convey some message of the greatness of unity, but by the second half it became apparent that this is only a nursery rhyme (one that, apparently, is fairly well-known, but that I had never heard before). The story itself would suffice for a quick read aloud or for a student to peruse during independent reading time, but this isn't a book that I would really recommend to anyone for any reason. As far as the illustrations go, I thought that they were nice enough, and perhaps they were considered excellent illustrations in 1971, but again, I don't find them to be particularly special. They complement the story well enough, but don't exactly tell the story on their own. ( )

I don't get it.  Scholastic has a PDF that uses this to teach fluency (intonation in reading aloud).  Zena Sutherland says the art is stunning and sophisticated."  I think it's a silly little bit of nothing, or perhaps I could be generous and say that the graphic design was ambitious for its time." ( )

This interesting book feels a bit dated. I would use it as a quick read-aloud during an oceans unit, and then do some emulative art.

“If All the Seas were One Sea” by Janina Domanska was given the Caldecott Honor in 1972. It is a classic poem that, in the simplest of terms, discusses what the world would be like if everything was all together in one sea. The illustrations are very original with a strong emphasis on geometric shape, yet are abstract as well, and were created using etchings on zinc plates for the black and blue and brush and ink overlays for the red and green. The text is very easy to read and the illustrations give a visual component to the poem, but I found that it left me very confused. The words themselves make perfect sense and leave me thinking that if everything was all together then it would be “good,” but the illustrations seem to take a different route. There is a giant green whale with sharp teeth that appears to be eating everything, which leaves me thinking that Domanska is hinting that the world would be chaos if such an event were to occur and that everything is just fine the way it is, but I am still skeptical as to whether or not that is the case. “If All the Seas were One Sea” was by far my least favorite book. I was left feeling confused and frustrated. I do not see myself reading it to a class. ( )