I Can't Wait!

by Amy Schwartz, Amy Schwartz (Illustrator)

Overview

Don’t wait to read this picture book about three friends who are each waiting for something worthwhile—and practicing patience while they’re at it!

William was waiting on his front porch.
Annie was waiting in her backyard.
And, in his house on the corner, Thomas was waiting, too.

But what are they each waiting for? When will it arrive? These three stories of three eagerly waiting friends come together in the end, where everything—especially friends and family—is worth the wait.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442482319
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	460L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Amy Schwartz (1954–2023) was a beloved author and illustrator who made more than forty picture books, including Bea and Mr. Jones, a Reading Rainbow featured title; What James Likes Best, a Charlotte Zolotow Award winner; A Teeny Tiny Baby; I Can’t Wait!; Busy Babies; 13 Stories about Harris; 13 Stories About Ayana; and the 100 Things series. From the very beginning of her career, Amy had an impeccable eye and ear for the specific details of the lives of young children, and this gave her books a universal honesty that touched readers of all ages.

Amy Schwartz (1954–2023) was a beloved author and illustrator who made more than forty picture books, including Bea and Mr. Jones, a Reading Rainbow featured title; What James Likes Best, a Charlotte Zolotow Award winner; A Teeny Tiny Baby; I Can’t Wait!; Busy Babies; 13 Stories about Harris; 13 Stories About Ayana; and the 100 Things series. From the very beginning of her career, Amy had an impeccable eye and ear for the specific details of the lives of young children, and this gave her books a universal honesty that touched readers of all ages.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/10/2015
William is patiently waiting for his father to come home from work. Annie is anxiously waiting to see if there’s irreparable rift in her friendship with Eddie. And Thomas is excitedly waiting for his parents to return from the hospital with a new sibling. Schwartz (100 Things That Make Me Happy) breaks her story down into three mini-chapters, each with short, varied, and well-observed narrative arcs; readers know right away who Thomas is waiting for (he spends his chapter coming up with potential names for his presumed new sister), while the reason behind Annie’s psychological state is revealed gradually, and William’s waiting is treated as a surprise ending (although readers will probably guess who he’s waiting for). Everyone gets a happy ending, and all of the children gather for a meet-up in the park, where they “played together until it was time to go home.” With her simple, direct text and doll-like illustrations, Schwartz is so effective at mirroring the children’s feelings of anticipation, expectation, and dread that the familiar lesson of “waiting has its rewards” feels fresh and reassuring. Ages 5–8. Agent: Jane Feder. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

The difficulties, and the deliciousness, of waiting are explored in this story about three children in the same neighborhood, with each child getting her or his own minichapter. William is waiting on his front stoop, handing out clues. For each person who asks him what he is doing, he says he is waiting for something special, something that is huggable, warm, and amazing. Finally, we learn William is waiting for his dad. Annie is waiting in her backyard, and she fires off a series of worried questions to her puppy about where her best friend, Eddie, could be. Thomas is inside his house with his grandmother, waiting for his parents to bring a new baby home. Schwartz’s (Dee Dee and Me, 2013) gouache, pen, and ink illustrations are charming, and the inside cover pages give readers a bird’s-eye view of the neighborhood. This book has an old-fashioned, comforting feel (Grandmother has Thomas lick a spoon while baking; laundry hangs on a line outside), and its message about waiting rings true.

October 5, 2015 - Booklist Online

Relationships define this slice-of-life picture book about four young children and their diverse families. Schwartz’s gouache and pen-and-ink illustrations revel in capturing homey, domestic details and characters’ gestures and movements. The three-part structure opens with a page of vignettes introducing the waiting children—William on his front stoop, Annie in her backyard, and Thomas in

his house. William gives passersby clues about the “special,” “warm,” “amazing” thing he’s waiting for. Guesses in response provide humor, and Papa’s arrival as the awaited “something” comes as a sweet surprise. Next, Annie’s anticipation of her friend Eddie’s visit is fraught with anxiety over why he’s late; when Eddie finally arrives, he reveals that he’s been equally worried while waiting for her. (Endpapers depict their houses practically on top of each other, so all that worry was for naught.) Finally, Thomas and his grandma await the return of his parents with a new baby sibling, and he spends the time thinking up creative, flowery names for a little sister. This makes the homecoming of baby boy John another surprise in this set of stories with little twists. The book closes with a neighborhood play date in the park that ends with anticipation of more good times together

October 6, 2015 - The Horn Book

09/01/2015
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. VERDICT A simple and lovely book that addresses a topic relevant to many children.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal

2015-07-27
Periodically, a publishing season yields titles on a common theme. This year, coincidentally, three artists explore dimensions of waiting. Schwartz depicts three impatient preschoolers who are helpfully distracted by other characters. Headings create five segments within the longish text. William enjoys riddles; he drops clues to neighbors, whose silly guesses pass the time until Papa arrives. Anxious Annie rattles off reasons (to Puppy) why Eddie probably doesn't like her anymore. Then he appears, wondering where she'd been. Thomas helps Grandma choose names for a new sister—until a brother is presented. Cheerful gouache and ink vignettes in a plethora of colorful patterns against a white background carry the flavor of a bygone era: wash hangs outside, batter is licked while baking, a child waits on a porch stoop. After group play, William "can't wait" until tomorrow. By contrast, Kevin Henkes' Waiting (2015) celebrates the joy in the moments themselves—the serendipity and sense of community with others who are present. In Antoinette Portis' Wait (2015), a child repeatedly urges his mother to stop (and look)—with manifold rewards. Both titles feature spare text and rich visual narratives motivating readers to draw their own conclusions—and return. Although listeners will relate to the difficulty of waiting as presented in Schwartz's straightforward plot, there is not more to glean. Henkes and Portis offer deeper pleasures in more succinct packages. (Picture book. 4-5)

Kirkus Reviews