Should be helpful in many a household expecting a new baby.
A month-to-month gestational guide for young siblings-to-be.
Beneath the heading “1 month!” a bubbly little kid happily announces: “We’re having a baby!” Over the next several double-page spreads—one for each month of growth—the new baby’s development is explained using various familiar foods to approximate the size of a baby developing in the womb. These comparisons help to make the information accessible to young children. From the first month, when the developing baby is the size of a poppy seed, to the ninth month (the size of a pineapple), children can lift the flap on Mommy’s belly to see the fetus developing. The last spread predictably shows the newborn baby together with Mommy and the proud sibling: “Hello, baby!” The text is simple and direct: “Mommy tries an apple and tells me our baby is this size.” For children ready for a little more information, the inside of the flap provides additional detail: “The baby’s face muscles are working now, which means it can open and close its mouth.” The two main characters are mother and child, with no other family members mentioned or depicted, thus leaving the book unconstrained by family type. Both mother and child have literally yellow skin, but the developing fetus is pink. The mother has black hair and the child red hair.
Should be helpful in many a household expecting a new baby. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7382-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
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
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
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