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WE WANTED YOU

Rosenberg (Roots and Flowers, 2001, etc.) and Catalanotto (The Dream Shop, 2002, etc.) team up to create a love letter from a mother and father as their adopted son heads off to college. Unfortunately, while the sophisticated blend of words and images may spark discussion, it is likely to present more questions than it answers, especially for younger children. To begin with, Catalanotto’s realistic illustrations, which add a back-story not evident in Rosenberg’s spare text, are disorienting. The title spread shows a teenager in cap and gown; the final spread shows the young man in a college dorm in front of a banner that reads “Welcome Freshmen.” And it’s only in the end that the child’s name and ethnicity are clearly revealed: a party scene shows the proud white parents holding the brown-skinned infant; behind them, a sign reads, “We Love You, Enrique!” Interior illustrations, presented in reverse chronological order, portray memorable moments in the child’s life. Along the way, Rosenberg conveys the parents’ longing, the anticipation and preparation that precedes the child’s arrival, and the events that unfold when the baby is finally born. After a phone call delivers news of the baby’s birth, Rosenberg writes, “And so we came. We flew! / Because that’s how much we wanted you.” Then, addressing the birth parents: “Somewhere in the world a / mother gave birth to you / a father gave life to you / We weren’t your first father/ and mother.” Considering the title, this unassuming passage carries insensitive undertones and flies in the face of positive adoption language. An unsatisfactory addition to the adoption oeuvre. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-7613-1597-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002

Categories:
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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 23, 2005

ISBN: 0-618-00361-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005

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GRANDMA'S GIRL

This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.

Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.

Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”

This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 7, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020

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