Silly and sporty in equal measure.
NBA All-Star Tatum and co-author Apple follow a talented baby unmatched in his dunking ability—as long as he can pause for naptime.
Baby Dunks-a-Lot’s origin story is a simple one: Punk kids refuse to let him play basketball, but his loving family teaches him to shoot hoops. And what else would you call a dunking baby who develops a devoted following? The attention leads rather quickly to Baby D signing with the Ballers, alongside a supportive player who appears to be co-author Tatum. Baby D charms his teammates and the league as surely as he’ll charm readers; he helps bring the Ballers all the way to the championship game with his savvy pint-sized play. But lost pacifiers, missed bedtimes, and mid-game teething take a toll on the star baby player, and eventually his family expresses doubts about the appropriateness of pro sports for a baby. The championship is on the line, however, and a baby’s got to do what a baby’s got to do. Goofy digital illustrations of Baby D picking his nose and rolling around the court—“I think he [misunderstands] the pick-and-roll”—are paired with comic book–like speech bubbles, making for a delightful read. Sports fans will enjoy fun references (“There’s no biting in basketball!”) and cameos from famous ballers such as Steph Curry and LeBron James. Baby Dunks-a-Lot and his family are Black.
Silly and sporty in equal measure. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781419771460
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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