A bevy of bouncing babies tumble across the board pages of this joyful paean to love.
As she did in I Will Love You Forever (2016) and Sweet Child of Mine (2014), Church reprises the theme of unconditional love and gentle assurance for new parents in this posthumous publication. From “Rise and shine! Let’s say hello” to “It’s time for bed, our day is through,” these carefree toddlers are all smiles. The five diaper-clad tots are racially diverse; gender is not identified, though the baby with the longest hair (an exuberant Afro) is also wearing a pink T-shirt. The first five pages feature just one baby per page. Each is accompanied by the same winsome smiling brown teddy bear that mimics the baby’s actions. No adult is shown in any of the pictures. The narrator could be an offstage adult or the voice of the children’s thoughts. Brief rhyming text describes the actions of the toddlers. A couple movements resemble toddler attempts at yoga postures and mirror the text: “Twirl and whirl, twist and bend, / Leaping, dancing with our friend.” Sturdy board pages and an optimistic view of baby behavior make this a good choice to tuck in with a gift for a new baby or to share with a toddler just mastering independent movement.
A sweet but not saccharine charmer. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-74620-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with.
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Two sisters who are constantly at odds take a family road trip that covers more ground—both literally and figuratively—than they expect.
After begging her parents for a sister, Raina gets more than she bargained for once Amara is born. From the moment she was brought home, Amara hasn’t been quite the cuddly playmate that Raina had hoped. As the years pass, the girls bicker constantly and apparently couldn’t be more unalike: Raina spends her time indoors underneath her headphones, and Amara loves animals and the outdoors. The girls, their mother and their little brother all pack up to drive to a family reunion, and it seems like the trip’s just going to be more of the same, with the girls incessantly picking on each other all the way from San Francisco to Colorado. However, when the trip doesn’t go quite as planned—for a number of reasons—the girls manage to find some common ground. Told in then-and-now narratives that are easily discernable in the graphic format, Telgemeier’s tale is laugh-out-loud funny (especially the story about the snake incident) and quietly serious all at once. Her rounded, buoyant art coupled with a masterful capacity for facial expressions complements the writing perfectly. Fans of her previous books Smile (2010) and Drama (2012) shouldn’t miss this one; it’s a winner.
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with. (Graphic memoir. 7-13)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-54059-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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