If All the Seas Were One Sea Book

I can see why this would catch the attention of a Caldecott committee. The illustrations are like nothing I've ever seen before. They are very geometric with interesting lines and shapes, although I liked some of the pictures better than others. My favorites were the animals in the sea - especially the seahorses and the octopus.

While I thought the pictures were interesting and quite unique, I had a problem with the text. Apparently it comes from a "favorite nursery rhyme" that I had never heard before. The text is very simple: "If all the seas were one sea, what a great sea that would be. And if all the trees were one tree, what a great tree that would be." The same pattern is followed with an ax and a man. So if a great man has a great ax, of course he's going to cut down the great tree "and let it fall into the great sea, what a splish splash that would be!" And that's the end of the book. If someone understands the point of this nursery rhyme, post in the comments! Please explain it to me, because I just don't get it. Some reviewers on Amazon seem to think there is some sort of "philosophical" point to it.