Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd



Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd is such a charming, sweet book and is so rich with details that it deserves to be read over and over - by you! I have no doubt that, in the hands of the right child, it WILL be read over and over. Actually, after reading it through once with me and noticing all the wonderful details, my eight-year-old son has picked Inside Outside up more than a few times to peruse on his own. The reason I think adults should give Inside Outside two or three readings is so that you can truly appreciate how a picture book that seems simple and straightforward really requires so much thought and planning, especially a book like this where the story is told without words, relying on the pictures alone. And, as I said above, adults should also read Inside Outside so that they can help younger readers truly appreciate all that is going on inside these pages.

The title Inside Outside informs the reader. At the start of the book, a little kid (ok, it looks like a boy, but it might be a girl! That's the beauty of wordless picture books - you can make up the story and your pre-reading kids will believe anything you tell them!) is inside planting seeds in pots. Die-cuts on each page bring the outside in or the inside out, depending on where out little kid is in the story. 

Details from every page show up again in the story, making this one of my favorite kinds of books to read with little listeners - a look and find! There are two white mice on every inside page, and outside things like birds and snowmen becomes paintings on the wall back inside. A turtle found outside travels back and forth, from pond to terrarium to teepee. The teepee, made inside, appears again outside when the little kid makes a teepee of sticks for the turtle.


I have only scratched the surface of the multitude of details in Inside Outside and I regret that I could nit find bigger interior images to share with you. However, Lizi Boyd is a designer with a thriving business at Lizi Boyd Papers where you can take a look at her blank journals, card, wrapping paper and ribbon designs. She even has this cool thing called "Tree Stories," which are wood cutouts that can be used to cast shadows or for play or for decoration.

Source: Review Copy

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