"The sun was up and there was dew
     on the grass
And I went to the meadows to play.
A grasshopper sat on a leaf of a 
     weed.
He was eating it up for his breakfast.
'Grasshopper,' I said, 'will you play
     with me?'
And I tried to catch him but he
     leaped away."

One by one, grasshopper, frog, turtle, chipmunk, blue jay, rabbit, and snake all ran away from the excited little girl. But when she realized that animals don't like to be caught any more than children do, and that catching isn't really the same as playing anyhow, she sat down by the pond, very still and very patient. Then there came a happy, happy ending to the lovely, sunny morning.

This is Mrs. Ets' first book in color and it is full of soft browns and yellows and grays. Both the story and pictures have all the eagerness and inquisitiveness and laughter of a small child. Like Mrs. Ets' other books it has that true simplicity which means genius.

From the dust jacket