A Second Is a Hiccup: A Child's Book of Time.

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University and the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Time, an abstract concept for children, is explained through concrete examples that most children have experienced or imagined or can connect with in some way. In increasing length-of-time units, Hutchins explains a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, and a childhood. The units of time featured in the book are written in a different font style and in larger and darker font than the rest of the text on the pages. The poems, which contain many verbs, appropriately increase in length as the units of time they are explaining increase in duration.

The whimsical illustrations that accompany the flowing verses feature three children, each from a different family structure. The composition of the illustrations varies: some include one of the focus children and his/her family members, other illustrations contain all three children together, and still other pictures show the three children and their families. The illustrations depict the children enjoying life, family, and friends during daily routines and throughout the seasons. The children are active in the illustrations, although on some pages the children are engaged in more quiet activities. Denton used watercolour paints, pen and ink, gouache, charcoal, and colour sticks to create her detailed illustrations, which both complement and extend the rhythmical verses. Highly recommended.