Readers from young children to grandparents will appreciate the frustration felt by Lily’s family in Fleming’s lyrical journey into what makes a baby tick. The tale begins when “Lily wakes up crying. / Waa! Waa! Waa! / Lily wakes up crying. / Oh, who knows what to do?” This plea repeats throughout, as each family member offers to soothe the seemingly inconsolable infant. Mommy sings a lullaby, but is unsuccessful. Daddy’s attempt to play “Superbaby” ends in failure. A clean diaper from Grandma and peek-a-boo with uncle are unable to quell the wailing. When panic starts to set in, big brother’s simple solution saves the day, making this a perfect read for new older siblings. Heo’s fun, fanciful, flat, and folksy artwork provides bright colors and unique perspectives. One especially amusing picture shows an enormous crying Lily surrounded by tiny worried adults, beautifully illustrating that babies truly are the center of their universe. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-83548-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A funny, wrenching affirmation of a parent’s unconditional love.
A toddler’s recalcitrance inspires a parent’s book-length retort.
The smallest thing—having to put on shoes, say—can set off a youngster. In this outing, an adult responds to a toddler’s footwear-related tantrum with one long, single-sentence spiel that is the book’s only text. It begins, “Even when… // because of a shoe… / you are screaming / and you don’t want to be screaming / but you just can’t stop screaming…” Across pages, the caregiver describes the child’s obstinacy, forecasting, among other things, a lifetime spent hating shoes (“You want all the shoes / to go to the bottom of the ocean / and get eaten by a shark”). The point, of course, is that even when the kid is screeching and the adult is “making my maddest face / and my eyes are my maddest eyes,” parent and child still love each other. Fogliano’s text, which could almost pass for a narrative poem, is hilarious, cathartic, and, finally, heartwarming—at least it will be for parents. The parent’s full-throttle narration may confound some little ones, who will pick up cues from Frazee’s emotionally attuned multimedia art, which is in color to start, largely grayscale when the parent is most gloom-and-doomiest, and in color again (whew!) when the two have made their peace. Both characters are pale-skinned redheads.
A funny, wrenching affirmation of a parent’s unconditional love. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780593707401
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
