I Can’t Wait Till I’m Five

Colleen H. Robley Blake
Imaajinn This (2006)
ISBN 9780976734208
Reviewed by Conner Augren (age 3) and Mom for Reader Views (2/08)

Alex is a four-year-old boy who cannot wait to do everything that his brother does, like go to school, play baseball and get his own library card. He knows his ABCs and 123s, he can brush his teeth and tie his shoes, but he can’t wait until he’s old enough to do the things he wants to do.

“How old are you, Conner?”
“I’m three, almost 4.”
“Do you know when your birthday is?
“I don’t know.”
“It’s Feb 23.”
“Did you like the story?”
“Yeah!”
“Why?”
“’cause I like it.”
“Do you get mad that you can’t do some things until you’re older?”
“Sometimes. When I’m six I get to have a guinea pig and a snake, right Mommy?”
“We’ll see.”
“How old do you want to be?”
“I want to be six, and four, and five, and seven, and eight … and I want to be eighty-nine … and I want to be eight nine six.”

Parent’s comment:

Though my child hasn’t expressed it fully in reviewing this book, it is a book he can easily identify with even if he doesn’t have older siblings. Frequently he asks for things that are for when he’s older. He doesn’t always understand why he has to wait. The author captures a lot of the frustration and impatience of waiting. She also illustrates the skills that are needed (or at least in Alex’s mind) to progress to the next level. I truly liked the follow-on questions at the end of “I Can’t Wait Till I’m Five.” It gave my child a chance to think about his own situation and also to reinforce what he understood in reading the book.

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