The “I love you so much” bookshelf can never be too full.
“Love is in…each small sight and sound.”
Gentle prose from veteran children’s author Jones details the many everyday moments full of love: “through summer, winter, / fall, and spring.” Written in the first person, the reassurances of love in all the little things follow a nursery rhyme–like rhythm expertly crafted to comfort little ones. There are verses devoted to smiles, hugs, bubble baths, and bedtime kisses. Spot art and full-page spreads follow a slightly anthropomorphized, giant teddy of a bear and a towheaded, light-skinned human child. The bear appears to be the child’s caretaker, and the two watch fireworks, read bedtime stories, dance, tell jokes, have tea parties and baths, and so on. The sketchy visuals err on the side of oversimplified. A scene where the two gaze at each other while the text refers to “quiet, love-filled, gentle smiles” that “mean more than words can say” leaves the characters looking more blank than loving. While nothing in the prose or the nameless characters offers anything particularly grand or memorable, this offering will make a serviceable script for real-life caretakers reading aloud to sleepy listeners; as the book makes abundantly clear—“love is in the little things,” after all.
The “I love you so much” bookshelf can never be too full. (Picture book. 1-5)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781664300415
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
Wonderful, indeed
A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot.
Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin’s text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read “This is the first time / There’s ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do” capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading “Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?” shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin’s fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details—zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-’n’-roll band of mice paralleling the children’s own band called “The Missing Teeth”—add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime.
Wonderful, indeed . (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37671-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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