Up High
by Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow, 2024. First published in the United Kingdom in 2024. 40 pages.
Review written July 31, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review
I love this simple, but bright and colorful picture book. It’s the story of a little boy going for a walk through the city to the park with his father, a big man with sleeve tattoos. When the city seems so crowded and busy, the boy asks to go “up high,” and his father let’s him ride on his shoulders.
Suddenly, I don’t feel so small any more.
There’s not a lot of text on each page, and it really gives us the kid’s perspective, from looking up at all the giant people standing around him to looking down from above the whole crowd. I love the spread where his dad stops to talk with a friend for a long time:
His hair feels tickly in my hands.
I pull it.
There are also pages of all the things the boy notices once he gets to the park.
It definitely brings to mind family walks when my own kids were small. And that happy trust on my kids’ faces when they went up high.
Just a happy and joyful slice of life.
matthuntillustration.com
nosycrow.us
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/up_high.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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