A little girl and her father get up together in this imaginative and lighthearted picture-book from Norway. As the two are depicted engaging in various activities, from yawning to putting their slippers on, making the bed to looking out the window, the narrative imagines what various creatures and objects might do, when they get up in the morning. When the narrative returns to the girl and her father, it describes them having breakfast, waving to Mommy as she goes off to work, and then cycling to school...

Originally published in Norwegian as Når to skal stå opp, this engaging getting-up story is one of a number of picture-books from author Tor Åge Bringsværd and illustrator Tina Soli in the "When Two..." series. I don't know that every getting-up scenario here made a great impression on me, but overall the simple text struck me as entertaining and imaginative. The artwork is colorful and cute, with a cartoonish style that isn't a personal favorite, but which works well with the story. I liked that the text was printed in various colors as well, as this fit the aesthetic of the book. Although I wouldn't describe When Two Get Up as particularly impressive, I was glad to read it, both because I'm interested in translated children's literature, and because getting-up stories are so much more uncommon than going-to-bed tales. I think I will track down the other two in the series that have been translated, When Two Say Goodnight and When Two Are Angry at Each Other. ( )