Share this sweet treat with baby for some serious bonding time
Smitten adults gush over the attributes of their little ones by comparing them to the goodness of sweet pumpkin pie.
The simple rhyming text is jovial, celebratory and just a little silly. Take this, for example: “Your scent is just delightful— / Like cinnamon and spice. // Each time I kiss your yummy cheek, / I have to kiss it twice.” Spoonfuls of praise pile up, like giant dollops of whipped cream, culminating with the final pages: “You are so delicious— / The star of any feast. // You’re my little pumpkin pie, / Each and every piece.” The interactions between adult and baby that the text invites will make sharing this an enjoyable experience and help keep baby’s attention. In a nice touch, the illustrations depict different families on each page spread, and the multiethnic cast of characters includes both women and men cuddling with their little ones. The warm tones, pumpkin-pie theme, and orange and gold-leafed trees featured in the illustrations make this a natural choice for fall reading. A shiny corrugated pie plate and glittery whipped cream add a little zip to the cover, inviting readers to dig in.
Share this sweet treat with baby for some serious bonding time . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-20714-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: LB Kids/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved.
Parental love has never been expressed so sweetly and believably.
In this sunny, bright world there is no ambivalence, much less postpartum depression—only positive possibilities. Church offers a model of good parenting, expressing the universal hopes all parents have for their children, that they “see the joy that life can bring.” Her focus is always on the child. The narrator mother is shown only at the very beginning, cuddling her newborn and lifting a sock-clad toddler above her head. On two other pages readers see the mother's hands reaching out to guide and encourage as the baby begins to crawl, stand, and run. The first-person narration might be confusing if the book is shared by a caregiver other than a mother. Toddlers will join in on the reassuring refrain “I will love you forever.” The pants-clad child is shown with tightly curled reddish-brown hair and light brown skin. The mother has a slightly lighter skin tone and straight hair. A faithful brown dog and well-loved teddy bear accompany the child on almost every page.
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-94200-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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