Diminutive in size—just right, really, for a midnight conversation—and pleasantly sweet.
The titular question sparks a conversation many parents will find very familiar.
Edward peppers his mom with question after question—nothing unusual about that. Problem is, it’s 4:00 a.m. Sleepy circular logic results from the combination of Edward’s repetitious, 30-plus queries and Mom’s patient, bemused answers. When “Why hasn’t the sun come up yet?” is posed for the fourth time, she switches from allusions to moon and stars to a perfunctory “Because it’s Tuesday.” We learn that Dad is a pilot flying at night—one source, perhaps, of the little one’s restlessness. Blackall provides visual indicators that invite children to track the passage from night to morning. Color alters gradually from the bedroom’s dusky grays to the golden light suffusing the room at sunrise. An analog clock shaped like a green owl marks the hour in some spreads. Just for fun, apparently, in a corner of the verso pages, Edward’s roly-poly toy elephant cavorts before succumbing to zzzzs. The boy’s dialogue is in lower case, while Mom’s is proffered in gently emphatic caps. As she wakes fully, Mom poses a few Qs of her own, then opines about yellow things. Edward finally slumbers, Dad comes home—and a last spread promises more “Why?”s.
Diminutive in size—just right, really, for a midnight conversation—and pleasantly sweet. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: May 24, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8050-7858-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and...
More than skin deep, this rhyming paean to diversity offers readers an array of families of all colors and orientations, living and loving one another in a vibrant city setting.
A giggling baby is tummy-tickled by her white and black mothers (or white mother and black father—impressively, the illustration leaves room for interpretation) in New York’s Central Park in its summertime glory. "This is how we all begin: / small and happy in our skin." This celebration of skin not only extols the beauty and value of various skin colors, but also teaches the importance of skin as an essential body part: “It keeps the outsides out / and your insides in.” Park, public-pool, and block-party scenes allow readers to luxuriate in a teeming city where children of all colors, abilities, and religions enjoy their families and neighbors. The author and illustrator do not simply take a rote, tokenistic approach to answering the cry for diverse books; the words and pictures depict a much-needed, realistic representation of the statement “it takes a village to raise a child” when a child skins her knee and many rush to her aid and comfort. Though her palette of browns is a little limited, Tobia creates sheer joy with her depictions of everything from unibrows, dimples, and birthmarks to callouts to recognizable literary characters.
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and their families to pore over this book again and again. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7002-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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
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