JUST LIKE YOU

This view of babies in different parts of the world and the ways in which their mothers love them and care for them offers a thoughtful, soothing text and warmly rendered illustrations full of culturally specific details. Each spread shows a newborn infant with its mother, with a comforting, repeated refrain describing each mother counting her baby’s fingers and toes, whispering to the child and singing a lullaby. The following text about each baby gives more information about that child’s family, home and environment and concludes with a repeated phrase counting each child by name as “a beautiful baby…just like you.” Wang’s design and soft-focus illustrations offer a montage of scenes specific to each infant, with a connecting device of sparkling stars in both text and art linking all the babies together. The concluding spread describes God’s connection to all these babies and ends with the same mother and baby pair that began the story. This reassuring and quietly powerful book reminds readers in a gentle way that they have much in common with other children around the world. (author’s note) (Picture book/religion. 3-5)