Warm and bright.
A picture-book celebration of babies and their individuality.
While the text doesn’t directly quote the spiritual “This Little Light of Mine,” many readers will doubtlessly think of the song when they read Staub’s text in verse. Nor does the text define characters, instead leaving illustrator Nichols to depict not just a singular baby named in the title, but several babies and their diverse families. Smooth cartoon illustrations with stardustlike detailing depict: a white-appearing toddler with a single mother and older sibling who both also appear white; baby twins who, like their parents (one of whom uses a wheelchair), appear white; a baby who appears Asian with what seem to be two dads (one also appears Asian, and the other seems white); and a black-appearing family with a mom, dad, baby, and older child. These characters recur throughout the book, the ever present sparkles emphasizing the title’s “shine.” This family diversity contributes to the picture book’s success, making it stand apart from a surfeit of titles about beloved babies. However, readers may note that the inclusivity is a bit undermined by the text’s positioning of seeing and hearing as universal abilities with lines such as “Look, baby, look! You were born to see” and “Listen, baby, listen! Hear that joyful sound?” Given the thoughtful inclusion of a person with a visible disability, this stands out.
Warm and bright. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-59078-931-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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