The wait for Mother and Father to get home can seem eternal for a young preschooler, but Rosie uses her imagination to help her courageously pass the time with babysitter, Aunt Lily. The long afternoon drags on and shortly before parents are due to return, Rosie envisions disaster. “What if something happened? What if . . . what if . . . a tiger ate them?” Her inventive mind creates one outrageous scenario after another, explaining to Aunt Lily her resourceful, brave solutions that she herself will employ. Rosie will come to the rescue by chasing the tiger away. Kidnapped by a giant bird and thrown into the sea? No problem, Rosie will sail a ship to save them. Each episode becomes more and more outlandish as Aunt Lily playacts her fearful, nail-biting reactions, all the while encouraging Rosie’s brave, strong, undaunted, devoted “love conquers all” attitude. Chorao (Up and Down With Kate, 2002, etc.) delightfully complements Roberts’s (Birthday Mice!, 2002, etc.) yarn with pen-and-ink, colored-pencil, and gouache drawings of a squirrel family whose loveable, expressive features offset the comically exaggerated, frightful looks of Rosie’s imaginary characters as each scene builds on the previous calamity across every vibrant double-page spread. And just 25 minutes after Rosie’s initial concern, a hug-filled and joyous reunion happens as Mother and Father return “right on time.” Soothing, playful, and fun. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8050-6486-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2003
When Holly’s Mommy goes out, Daddy tells her “a story about when [she was] a new baby.” The story becomes a gentle father-daughter conversation, in which Holly poses a series of what-ifs: “What if I were a baby kangaroo?” Her father answers each hypothetical with scientifically sound information; if Holly had been a baby shark, for instance, her mother might have eaten her—but “[y]our mother would never do that.” Lovelock’s full-bleed watercolor, ink and pencil illustrations deftly superimpose the habitat of whatever animal is under discussion over Holly and Daddy cuddling in her bedroom, cleverly allowing for visual comparisons. Kangaroos jump over the pair; seahorses swim by them. The images of parent-child affection are unforced and genuinely sweet—a breath of fresh air in this saccharine season. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4685-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Rhyming couplets describe the many different ways fathers and sons enjoy each other and express their love, but unfortunately with this effort the master storyteller demonstrates that verse simply is not his métier: “Mi Papá likes to hear me sing. / He’s very good at listening. // Dad knows the times I like to hide / and when to call me back inside.” Taking her cue from the doggerel, Halperin depicts a variety of ethnicities in her father-son pairs and includes a blind dad, a hipster dad and an older dad as well. Her crayon spreads, done in her usual bright palette, display the formal precision readers have come to expect, presenting one large panel that spans the spread atop four smaller ones that run below and expand on each moment. Well-intentioned but nothing more. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3173-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
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