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WHEN YOU WERE BORN

Name: WHEN YOU WERE BORN
Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
ISBN: 0-7636-1438-6

by Dianna Hutts Aston & illustrated by E.B. Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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Welcome-baby books make for joy when not squashed by gooey sentimentality, and this one works. While Aston’s prose poem is occasionally lush, it’s also beautiful as she ties the newborn to the circle of family: “When you were born / your grandmother . . . sang to you / the lullaby she had sung to me.” “[Y]our uncle—my baby brother all grown up—took you in his hands . . . and he whispered, ‘A baby is so small!’ ” Daddy, grandfather, neighborhood mothers, and children, even the dog, greet the new child, filling the house with food and planting a magnolia tree that will grow with the baby. Lewis’s illustrations pay homage to his favorite artists: Chagall, Matisse, Redon, and Giotto. Watercolor and marker with touches of gold make these wonderful paintings, each framed opposite a page of text. The line is nervous and vivid, the shapes fully formed geometry that seem to float in space, the colors strong but with dreamlike patterns and edges. Even the endpapers of blue with gold stars echo a cloak with which Giotto clothed the Madonna. Sure to have a huge audience. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-7636-1438-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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MERMAIDS' SONG TO THE SEA
by Dianna Hutts Aston ; illustrated by Renée Kurilla

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A SHELL IS COZY
by Dianna Hutts Aston ; illustrated by Sylvia Long

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LOONY LITTLE
by Dianna Hutts Aston ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)