Higher! Higher!
Effectively wordless, this book follows a child on a swing as they fly past giraffes, planes, and spaceships. The reading is driven by the pictures and one repeated word the toddler can take over.
Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli is estimated to take about 2 minutes to read aloud (20 words, about 1 sentence a page), and it lands best with children aged 0-3.
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- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 2 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Estimated word count
- 20Our estimate
- Sentences per page
- 1Sentence per page
- Re-read tolerance
- 5/5still good at forty
- Vocabulary level
- 1/5plain words
- Best for
- Ages 0-3Our editorial fit
Our review
The imagination-heavy illustrations do almost all the heavy lifting here. It’s a visual journey that moves from the ground to high up in the sky.
Since the child can take over the reading very quickly, it’s an excellent choice for fostering early independence in "reading" along with a parent.
Before you buy it
With only about twenty words in the entire book, don't expect a story for bedtime. This is much more of a quick visual experience for the very youngest readers.
Themes
- swings
- flying
- imagination
- parks
Books like Higher! Higher!
Matched by refrain, density, length, and listener—not just the subject.
Questions parents ask
How long does it take to read Higher! Higher! aloud?
About 2 minutes at an unhurried pace, including a standard allowance for page turns, pictures and participation, from a word count of 20. Stopping for a longer conversation on every page will add more time.
What age is Higher! Higher! actually for?
Ages 0-3 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 1 sentence a page and vocabulary at 1 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
Does Higher! Higher! survive being read on repeat?
Yes - this is one of the few that is still fine on the fortieth reading, which is why it scores 5 out of 5 with us.
Is Higher! Higher! a good book for a child who will not sit still?
It helps that it has a refrain a child can join in with, and it asks the child questions to answer out loud. Those three features are what keep a wriggling toddler listening, far more than the subject matter does.
Will my child memorise Higher! Higher!?
Probably, and fast. The book leans on a repeated refrain, and at 5 out of 5 for re-read tolerance it survives the nightly repeats that get a book memorised. Expect your child to chant the pattern back before they can actually read.
Can a beginning reader read Higher! Higher! on their own?
It is closer than most picture books. With 1 sentence a page and plain vocabulary (1 out of 5), a confident early reader can attempt it, though it is written to be read aloud first.
What themes does Higher! Higher! cover?
We tag it with swings, flying, imagination and parks. Those are the threads that actually run through the book, not just the ones on the cover, which is how it earns its place on our themed lists rather than a keyword match.
Lists Higher! Higher! is on
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