Cleverly shows mirroring in action, though the manipulation required may make sharing difficult.
A mother and child interact in familiar ways in Raschka’s latest, which uses unique formatting to stand out from the crowd.
Mama and baby face each other across the gutter on the first spread, and then the pages’ orientations change. Mama is still on verso, baby on recto, but now they are sideways if the book is traditionally oriented. To see each right side up, readers will need to turn the book first 90 degrees clockwise to see the adult right way up and then a full 180 degrees to likewise see the child. The design is clearly meant to emphasize the mirroring that occurs between parent and child as they interact: smiles; clapping; hiding behind hands and then “Peek-a-boo!”; “Pat-a-cake.” (Even the text is hand-lettered sideways.) One interaction near the ending may be too on-the-nose: On the mom’s side, musical notes appear and her eyes slide sideways. The next three spreads show baby alone, expression modulating from pouty questioning (“Mama?”) to surprise to an open-mouthed wail that brings Mama back. The baby’s “up up” appears before the book returns to a traditionally oriented spread of the two cuddling. Raschka’s watercolors are very simple, showing each from midchest up. Mama has dark hair and slightly darker skin than blond Baby’s fair skin and light hair; both have pinkish spots on their cheeks and large, pouty lips.
Cleverly shows mirroring in action, though the manipulation required may make sharing difficult. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9060-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt.
A love song from parents to their child.
This title will seem quite similar to the many others about parents’ deep love for their children. The text is wholly composed of first-person declarations of parental love, and it’s juxtaposed with illustrations of the child with one or both parents. It’s not always clear who the “I” speaking is, and there are a few pages that instead use “we.” Most sentences begin with “I love you more” phrasing to communicate that nothing could undermine parental love: “I love you more than all the sleepless nights…and all the early, tired mornings.” The accompanying pictures depict the child as a baby with weary parents. Later spreads show the child growing up, and the phrasing shifts away from the challenges of parenting to its joys and to attempts to quantify love: “I love you more than all the blades of grass at the park…and all the soccer that we played.” Throughout, Bell’s illustrations use pastel tones and soft visual texture to depict cozy, wholesome scenes that are largely redundant of the straightforward, warm text. They feature a brown-haired family with a mother, father, and child, who all appear to be white (though the father has skin that’s a shade darker than the others’).
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0652-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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