Despite its rather lackluster text, this is a comforting book to snuggle with on the couch after a busy day.
On a familiar theme, this book follows a baby through his daily activities.
Baby wakes up, is changed, has breakfast, goes for a walk with “the daddy,” interacts with people in the neighborhood, attends storytime at the library, has fun on the playground, gets tired, and goes home to bath and bed. Family connections are tenderly portrayed, with lots of hugs and kisses from attentive parents and sister. Daddy is shown as a nurturing caregiver, and lots of healthy fruits and veggies are served. Kanevsky’s text is simple enough to be accessible to emergent readers but not without a few roadblocks. The repetition of the titular phrase “Here is the baby/daddy/sister,” which begins each text block, has a rhythm that suggests verse, and it may throw readers to discover it does not rhyme. Yoo’s illustrations have a cozy, reassuring warmth, strongly reminiscent of mid-20th-century classics. Events in the baby’s day are created in an attractive combination of colored pencils and linoleum prints, alternating full-page bleeds with small vignettes. Children will have fun spotting the missing green mitten where it was dropped on the stair at the beginning and reappears at the end of the story. Although there are some dark-skinned people in background scenes, the protagonist and his family appear to be Caucasian.
Despite its rather lackluster text, this is a comforting book to snuggle with on the couch after a busy day. (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-375-86731-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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