A common belief of childhood—that the moon is following a child—is part of the narrator’s ponderings during a night ride home. The narrator and her mother have helped a grandmother move; on the journey home the child rehearses her familiar bedtime routines in her mind: finding her father asleep on the couch in front of the TV, brushing her teeth, putting on pajamas, closing the curtains, and getting tucked in. The car is shown in snapshots, crossing bridges, rounding bends, and turning off exits, until its headlights shine a heart-shaped beam on the girl’s own house. Opposite those scenes are full-color pictures of the bedtime rituals, rendered in clean, unbroken pen-and-ink lines and washed in warm colors. The unswerving text, set in dark gray against a light gray background, conveys a sense of hush in simple declarative sentences and quietly celebrates the safety and comfort of home and family. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16168-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Gentieu creates an engaging set of photographs for very young eyes. Every spread pairs a large full-color close-up of an infant and a phrase that has clearly recognizable echoes for adults: “Where are baby’s toes?” and “How big is baby?” On the facing page, superimposed against soft pastel backgrounds, are several smaller photographs of infants engaged in a relevant activity, e.g., “Clap hands baby!” appears with babies engaged in enthusiastic attempts at patty-cake. Clad in colorful diapers, these cherubs smile, frown, laugh, and frolic through the book, candidly expressing a wide range of emotions. The direct correlation between text and photos provide children with visual clues that reinforce their comprehension of basic words and phrases. (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-80028-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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