Eat, sleep, poop, read.
A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do.
A first-person narration details the eponymous basics of a baby’s routine, while brightly colored pencil-and-gouache illustrations expand on the text to depict a family’s loving care of their eating, sleeping, pooping baby narrator. Although they aren’t named in the text, characters who appear to be the parents and one set of grandparents cuddle, bottle-feed, sniff, and hand off the baby in opening pages. A small dog in the illustrations (who bears a striking resemblance to Tad Hills’ Rocket) acts as a stand-in of sorts for a jealous big sibling and adds some visual interest and gentle humor to the spreads as it reacts with some wariness to the baby’s activities. Over time, the baby grows bigger and older and sprouts more blond hair and begins to “cut back… / on the sleep.” One spread, set in what looks like a playgroup, incorporates some diversity by including a few people whose skin tones and hair textures make them appear to be people of color. Otherwise the baby and everyone else all appear white. The closing of the book culminates with the addition of the word “LOVE” to the titular phrase, which highlights that the dog has come around to accepting the baby’s presence in the family.
Eat, sleep, poop, read. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-75503-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt.
A love song from parents to their child.
This title will seem quite similar to the many others about parents’ deep love for their children. The text is wholly composed of first-person declarations of parental love, and it’s juxtaposed with illustrations of the child with one or both parents. It’s not always clear who the “I” speaking is, and there are a few pages that instead use “we.” Most sentences begin with “I love you more” phrasing to communicate that nothing could undermine parental love: “I love you more than all the sleepless nights…and all the early, tired mornings.” The accompanying pictures depict the child as a baby with weary parents. Later spreads show the child growing up, and the phrasing shifts away from the challenges of parenting to its joys and to attempts to quantify love: “I love you more than all the blades of grass at the park…and all the soccer that we played.” Throughout, Bell’s illustrations use pastel tones and soft visual texture to depict cozy, wholesome scenes that are largely redundant of the straightforward, warm text. They feature a brown-haired family with a mother, father, and child, who all appear to be white (though the father has skin that’s a shade darker than the others’).
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0652-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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