I Can't Wait!

PreS-Gr 2—Three sweet-faced children wait. William sits on his front step, giving pause to his passing neighbors. With each conversation, he reveals another clue as to what he's waiting for. Annie plays in her backyard with her dog wondering why Eddie hasn't come. Could it be she did something wrong? Thomas passes his time by thinking of names for the new baby; he doesn't even consider that it might be a boy. I Can't Wait is split into chapters: the introduction on the first page, the individual stories of the children, and their final reunion to share their expected things. As it turns out, each of them was awaiting a special person—a father, a friend, a baby. Images include spot art and spreads. The simple dialogue and the gouache and ink illustrations have a childlike appeal. Schwartz does a service by acknowledging the complexity of emotions. No matter what, waiting is hard, yet different circumstances can produce different flavors of the same emotion; eager anticipation, fretting impatience, and happy contemplation are the three portrayed here.