The Mommy-loves-her-young-’un genre is so jam-packed that new entries need to really shine in order to find a place, and this one doesn’t. Rhapsodizing about her young son’s ways, this mother finds her boy so adorable that her first-person narration, though she addresses it directly to her son as “you,” may be more likely to hit the sweet spot for doting parents than little readers. His activities—messy eating, running around naked (no frontal view), “play[ing] with Papa,” hugging, laughing—are presented as simultaneously typical and precious. Some pages will amuse kids, such as the text and funny picture for “I love the way your hair looks in the morning,” while others take too long a view (“I love how every day you grow just a little more…”) or wax too sentimentally metaphorical (“I love the feel of your heartbeat / as if you have a butterfly fluttering in your insides”) to engage tots. Illustrations feel somewhat strained, the figures’ outlines too sketch-like to be anchoring but too heavy to successfully convey motion. Disappointingly bland; Pham has done much better. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-199029-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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“We hope this book…will lead children and their parents to engage in conversation about their families.”
So begins this good-sized book, which is packed with photographs of families of many different sizes, shapes, ages and colors (although most wear casual clothing familiar to most American children). Bold, colorful type announces: “There are all kinds of families.” Engaging photographs throughout complement a simple text that informs readers about differences—such as big vs. small; genders and generations of parents; adoption vs. birth children. Positive similarities follow, as families get together for celebrations and family members help one another out and enjoy activities together. Only childless families are excluded, but that can be forgiven by the book’s noble, stated goal. Kelly adds an endnote to further encourage parents: “Recently, research psychologists have found that children who developed a strong family narrative from speaking with their parents about family history and hearing family stories, both good and bad, exhibited greater self-esteem….” As the photographs’ emotional spectrum covers the tiny range from cheerful to exuberant, it’s an open question whether this will encourage or inhibit truthful family-history revelations. However, the emphatic ending will certainly start a dialogue: “There are many different kinds of families. What about yours?”
Vibrant photographs—especially action shots—will capture children’s attention, build language skills and, one hopes, start conversations. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3053-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES
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Marr and White produce a toddler sequel to Bunny Roo, I Love You (2015).
“One day you woke… / and hopped out of bed. I thought you’d become a frog, / so I brought you to the pond,” the doting narrator begins. But after touching the water, the child behaves like a duckling. And when the narrator joins the child in the water, the child clings like a monkey to the adult’s back. This pattern continues as the adult and child go through their day interacting, the child becoming a snake and a cheetah before morphing into “my bunny roo.” The rabbit eats some salad before a snuggle finally reveals the human child they have been all along, a barefoot tot in green one-piece pajamas with light skin and hair a shade lighter than their mother’s red. “You are my everything, as fun as all the animals in the world.” Pale, creamy backgrounds and sparse details keep the focus on the parent-child relationship, which is very sweet and tender, especially in the closing vignette of mother holding a snuggly child. The mother, whether animal or human, has prominent eyelashes that her child lacks. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 29.7% of actual size.)
Both a sweet lap-read and a gentle exhortation that caregivers interact with their children. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-51604-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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