Grunwald, Lisa. Now soon later. (1996). New York: Greenwillow Books.

Now Soon Later shows the concept of time and the time words “now,” “soon,” and “later” by showing a series of activities a child might engage in throughout the day, such as making the bed and baking cookies. The concept is reinforced with repeating phrases, “Now something happens. Soon something related will happen. Later something else related will happen.” The text is fairly large, with the words “now,” “soon,” and “later” in bold and in different colors (but each word stays the same color through out the book). There are pictures above each sentence showing the action. The reader is represented by a little girl who may be White or Hispanic, and her friends are from diverse races and are both boys and girls. The pictures are drawn in watercolor style and are simple but fairly detailed.

The book is charming and shows the very young children the action the words describe. The pictures and words work closely together to show the child the concept. Also, the repetition of the book helps the child learn the concept.

Comparison to Color the Rainbow

Both concept books use color and illustration effectively to demonstrate the concept they are teaching. The online book goes further in engaging the child’s attention since it uses sound and movement as well as visuals and text. Now Soon Later goes into its concept on more depth by showing multiple examples of the concept, while Color the Rainbow shows each color only 2 times (as the object and as part of the rainbow). ( )