A sweet, beautifully illustrated story for families.
Children learn how God gives parents babies in Valverde’s (The Grumpy Frog, 2013, etc.) picture book.
Youngsters wondering how they came into this world will get an answer in this short work. First, Mommy and Daddy ask God for a baby, says the narrator; then, when they are sleeping, God takes a little piece of each of their hearts and fuses them together in heaven to make a baby. After choosing physical features and personality traits, God wraps the baby up into a tiny, unique package that he puts inside Mommy’s belly. When the baby is born, the narrator says, parents have a gift from God, “a little angel from heaven.” Valverde offers mesmerizing, colorful full-page illustrations that depict a somewhat diverse array of families (although each has both a mother and a father): they wear jeans, headscarves, or kimonos, and they reside in grass-roof huts, igloos, or pastoral farms. One speaks Spanish, another has a menorah on its table. Meanwhile, a fair-skinned, glowing God creates babies in a star-filled universe. Each illustration features quaint details, such as ducklings in a pond, cherry blossom trees, a pair of slumbering huskies, or a pretty, decorated birthday cake. Clear, simple first-person language accompanies these images, and together they reveal a message that toddlers will understand easily: they are all special gifts from God that make their parents very happy. The author includes three blank spaces that parents may fill in to personalize the tale with such information as how long Mommy was pregnant, the child’s birthday, and his or her name. Although the book contains no explicit details about the reproductive process, parents may appreciate the symbolism of lines such as, “God put the two pieces of their hearts together and used them to make me,” which are certainly more eloquent than the old stork myth.
A sweet, beautifully illustrated story for families.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-943718-00-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Golden Seed Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
