WHEN YOU WERE NEW

A little one’s journey from newborn to school-age child.

Unhurried text introduces two doting parents—one light-skinned, one-brown skinned—their dog, and their tan-skinned newborn with swaths of yellow-green and warm turquoise in a home nursery. Nature and home are the primary settings for the family’s quiet adventures: napping on a blanket at the beach, picking raspberries, and having fun in the rain. The mood is cozy, especially when the child and dog snuggle on a rug in front of a roaring fire. “When you were new” is, predictably, the periodic refrain. Its repeated use as the child grows up nudges at the idea of finding the “new” at every stage of life. The everyday moments, aside from a beach visit and car trip, are low or no cost, offering reminders of how the most special memories can stem from the ordinary. Relaxed reading on the couch, tea parties, and picnics are the treasures here. Soft illustrations in a warm palette, portraying only the parents, child, and dog, give an intimate depiction of this tightknit family and their loving bonds. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A calm, earnest memo on what matters in life.