A sweet, honest parenthood tale.
What to expect when you’re expecting, in epistolary, picture-book form.
In playful rhyme, a father writes to his daughter about what it means to be a man raising a young girl. First comes the excitement of knowing that the mother is pregnant, which the expectant parents gladly announce to the world. But when Mommy asks, “Daddy, what do you hope the baby will be?” he’s unsure how to respond. At first, he imagines that he wants a boy, but then he’s cheered by the prospect of raising a girl—although he doesn’t quite know what that would entail. Nevertheless, he believes that he “could learn so much” and that “it would surely change his world.” Smith’s debut is honest about expectant fathers’ anticipation, noting how Christmas loses its luster for Daddy without a baby to share it with. While he waits, he fantasizes about having tea parties or going to the park with his daughter. Debut illustrator Duffy’s images are soft, colorful, and cartoonish—and they often include bits of humor, as when a picture of a fetus puzzling over a map pairs with “you were on the way.” Some of Daddy’s musings could have been less gender normative, but as a love letter from father to daughter, this book is sure to delight.
A sweet, honest parenthood tale.Pub Date: May 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5255-4174-2
Page Count: 52
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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