Please Play Safe! Penguin's Guide to Playground Safety
By Margery Cuyler; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Scholastic Press; $15.99
32 pp.; ISBN 0439528321

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

What's not to love about playgrounds? Running, jumping, sliding, swinging -- oh, and bruises, breaks, and hurt feelings, just for starters. Kids can often get so wrapped up in what they want to do, they forget how to play safely, no matter how many times you've told them not to crowd each other, no pushing, play fair, take turns… you know the routine. But it's pretty easy for them to forget. Margery Cuyler's Please Play Safe! offers young readers a bit of reinforcement of safe playground behavior that's cleverly disguised as an entertaining picture book.

Cuyler, the author of numerous children's books -- picture books, novels, and nonfiction -- has again joined forces with Hillenbrand, himself the illustrator of dozens of books. From this same author and illustrator who created Please Say Please!: Penguin's Guide to Manners, this latest collaboration returns Penguin to the playground with his fellow animal friends to help kids learn about playing safely.

The format of Please Play Safe! encourages children's vocal responses. A statement is made about playground behavior, then readers are directly asked if that's acceptable. The next page then agrees with the reader ("No, that's wrong!") and offers the preferred action.

Despite her instructive intent, Cuyler's tone is always more playful then punitive. Her word choices and writing style are authoritative yet warm and conversational. Please Play Safe! subtly reinforces common sense playground rules in a gaming sort of way with kids. Accompanied by Hillenbrand's cheery pen, ink, and crayon illustrations, it's unlikely that any kid will feel like he's being "taught" something.

Brightly colored animals enact the good and bad behavior in each section of text, giving kids the visual of each. Then a question is posed by Cuyler on each page -- "Is that right?" -- that encourages children to carefully consider the words and pictures, make a decision, and tell their grown-up whether or not the depicted activity is acceptable. With this question/response format, the author has provided many opportunities for conversation between parents and children in this book.

The antics of Hillenbrand's animals are humorous (yet still realistic, as the bear turns away when the rhinoceros kicks sand in his face, for example), again keeping the tone light and achieving education without being heavy-handed. The colors are bright and the page layouts are uncluttered. The animals look soft, playful, and inviting. Penguin accompanies children through the book, appearing in on every page, whistle around his neck and ready to step in when his friends' play gets out of hand. Cuyler has covered almost all the possible playground activities, from swings and slides, see-saws and monkey bars, to jump ropes, sand boxes, playing ball and wearing helmets on scooters, and Hillenbrand has depicted them all with clarity.

So if you're a bit tired of having the same conversation with your kids about proper playground behavior, Please Play Safe! could be a nice change of pace for you and your kids -- a bit of education and a bit of entertainment all rolled into one.