by Gloria Amescua ; illustrated by Mariyah Rahman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2025
A heartfelt lullaby bridges generations, weaving love and memories into a gentle bedtime story.
Songs from the heart shared with family create lasting memories.
On a moonlit night, a new mother cradles her infant son. The baby snoozes peacefully in her arms, and when he stirs, she soothes him back to sleep with a lullaby of her own creation. This sweet song becomes a cherished bedtime tradition throughout his childhood. Years later, the boy has grown into a man, and he sings the song to his two daughters one sleepless night. The tune brings back warm memories of his mother’s love and lulls his children to sleep. When his mother—the girls’ Abuelita—visits after having been away for years, the children surprise her by singing the lullaby. Moved, Abuelita joins them, and together they sing the song each night. She calls it “la canción de mi corazón”—the song of my heart—expressing how it connects the family across generations. The story’s softly rendered illustrations, featuring stars and swirling patterns in the bedtime scenes, capture the magic and emotional resonance of the song. In an author’s note, readers learn that Amescua originally wrote the lullaby for her own son and later sang it to her grandchildren, adding a personal dimension to the story. This simple yet deeply sincere tale would make a wonderful addition to any bedtime story collection. Characters are brown-skinned and Latine.
A heartfelt lullaby bridges generations, weaving love and memories into a gentle bedtime story. (glossary, lyrics, music notation) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781665957519
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Share your opinion of this book
More by Gloria Amescua
BOOK REVIEW
by Gloria Amescua ; illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh
by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
by Chasten Buttigieg ; illustrated by Dan Taylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2025
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family.
For his debut picture book, teacher and activist Chasten Buttigieg draws inspiration from life with husband Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. transportation secretary.
The big day has finally arrived! Rosie and Jojo have been counting down the days until Papa comes home from his work trip. With a little help from Daddy, they make “welcome home” signs to greet Papa at the airport, pick flowers from the garden, and bake a “seven-layer chocolate cake with purple and yellow frosting.” Much to Daddy’s bemusement, the kids gather all of Papa’s favorite things, including his robe and slippers and their adorable pooch, Butter, as they walk out the door to pick up Papa from his travels. The author offers an affectionate portrait of the everyday domestic life of a same-sex family unit. While many kids and adults will be pleased to see their experiences reflected on the page, both the choppy writing and the flat digital artwork are fairly bland. Characters display similarly excited facial expressions throughout, while the portrayal of the children borders on overly cutesy at times, with intentionally misspelled signs throughout the house (“Papa’s Very Spechull Garden. Please do not tutch”). Like the author’s actual children, Rosie and Jojo are brown-skinned, while Daddy and Papa present white.
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780593693988
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Share your opinion of this book
More by Chasten Buttigieg
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.