A Second Is a Hiccup: A Child's Book of Time (review)

Originally published in Canada, this rhyming picture book presents time concepts in child-centered terms. Each section begins with a question ("How long is a second?"; "How long is a day?"), then moves on to a series of examples, taken from a child's range of experiences, that might match the given unit of time ("A second is a hiccup—/ The time it takes to kiss your mom/ Or jump a rope/ Or turn around"). The concept is a solid one, and some of the given examples are actually comparable to the time unit (a hiccup does take about a second, it does take about a month for a scraped knee to heal). Others, though, are purely subjective (a month to learn to tie your shoes, a minute to sing "one small song"), and the combination of literal and figurative can be rather confusing; what's more, the rhyming text is often clumsy in its inconsistent meter and form. Denton's watercolor illustrations evince an appealingly informal delicacy, with a jovial cast of smiling families engaged in all manner of timely activities. The action-packed pastel compositions offer lots of opportunity for early language development as young browsers describe what is happening in the individual paintings. With some additional adult assistance, this could be a cozy one-on-one way to help kids grapple with the complicated concept of time.