There’s plenty of room on the new-baby shelf for this sturdy big brother
A little black boy revels in filling “one of the most important roles in the family”—big brother.
The little boy, who looks to be about 4 or 5, tells readers how he helped Mommy and Daddy before the baby arrived, how he waited with Grandma while his parents were at the hospital, and how he adapts to the new family member. Hudson lays out a best-case scenario for her narrator and his family: he helps with apparently unflagging cheer. He proudly shares that he “knew how to dial 911 and call Daddy if the baby came early,” a detail absent from most baby-on-the-way books that’s presented matter-of-factly and without alarmism. Although the narrator is very close to a big-brother ideal, he does express disgust with “stinky diapers,” frustration with “people telling me to SHHHH because the baby is sleeping,” and disappointment when a parent can’t play because “I have to take care of the baby.” By the end of the book, the narrator understands more fully the role of big brother and is able knowledgeably to answer “Good” when “Daddy asks how my new job is going.” Walker’s airy watercolors evince on every page the love the members of this comfortably middle-class, all-black family feel for one another. Next to them, the bold, sans-serif typeface can look jarring, but it has the advantage of being easy to read for children transitioning into independence.
There’s plenty of room on the new-baby shelf for this sturdy big brother . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-1933491-21-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marimba Books
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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