A sweet reminder to siblings big and small that they are all important members of the family.
At a family dinner, Baby brings joy and chaos.
The whole family has gathered for a home-cooked meal, and Baby is the star. With the table set, the candles lit, and the whole spread laid out—enchiladas and guacamole, ravioli and meatballs, black-eyed peas, olives, lemonade—guests take their seats and pass the baby around the table, sharing little bites and laptime. All goes well until Baby is seated in her highchair, where she makes a huge mess that the dog helps clean up. After the meal, the exhausted adults snooze in the living room; suddenly there’s no one to pass Baby around. Bored, Baby is poised to make a ruckus when her big sibling saves the evening. Written in rhyme, this story captures the joy and chaos of a family dinner when one of the guests is a beloved, doted-on baby. The baby’s big sibling appears in many of the illustrations observing from the sidelines. The chronology falters just once early in the book—the linear action suddenly and inexplicably backtracks to earlier preparations after everyone has just sat down at the table—but that’s a small issue. Colón’s handmade illustrations give the tale a cozy feel. The characters have brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet reminder to siblings big and small that they are all important members of the family. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780823450855
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world.
This reassuring picture book exemplifies how parents throughout the animal kingdom make homes for their offspring.
The narrative is written from the point of view of a parent talking to their child: “If you were a beaver, I would gnaw on trees with my teeth to build a cozy lodge for us to sleep in during the day.” Text appears in big, easy-to-read type, with the name of the creature in boldface. Additional facts about the animal appear in a smaller font, such as: “Beavers have transparent eyelids to help them see under water.” The gathering of land, air, and water animals includes a raven, a flying squirrel, and a sea lion. “Home” might be a nest, a den, or a burrow. One example, of a blue whale who has homes in the north and south (ocean is implied), will help children stretch the concept into feeling at home in the larger world. Illustrations of the habitats have an inviting luminosity. Mature and baby animals are realistically depicted, although facial features appear to have been somewhat softened, perhaps to appeal to young readers. The book ends with the comforting scene of a human parent and child silhouetted in the welcoming lights of the house they approach: “Wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.”
Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world. (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63217-224-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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