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DAY-OLD CHILD

Name: DAY-OLD CHILD
Author: Carol Lynn Pearson
ISBN: 978-1-4236-5533-6

by Carol Lynn Pearson ; illustrated by Corey Egbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 9, 2021

A sweet baby shower book for religious parents.

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Pearson’s popular poem gets complementary illustrations.

The short poem talks of a mother’s wish that her day-old child could understand her words so she could tell them all about God. “My day-old child lay in my arms. / In a whisper, lips to ear— / I said, ‘Oh, dear one, how I wish—’ / ‘I wish that you could hear.’ ” And as she whispers this wish to her child, she sees a light in the babe’s eyes and has the thought that perhaps the child similarly wishes for language so that they could tell their mother, before they forget, all about God: “I left God just yesterday.” Egbert’s sweet art keeps the focus on four separate mother-baby pairs that repeat in turn throughout the book. Three of these mothers seem to have opposite-sex partners, and one of these pairings is an interracial one; the fourth could be interpreted as one part of an interracial same-sex couple. All four, along with the various family members, are racially diverse. Figures are outlined definitively but with a soft, smudgy line that welcomes readers in. The soft colors and clear love seen on all the faces make this an attractive package for parents who are waiting to share the love of God with their little ones, though there is little here that will appeal to those little ones directly.

A sweet baby shower book for religious parents. (Picture book. 3-6, adult)

Pub Date: March 9, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-4236-5533-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
I'LL WALK WITH YOU
by Carol Lynn Pearson ; illustrated by Jane Sanders

- PERSPECTIVES
6 Diverse Mother’s and Father’s Day Books for Kids

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
CON POLLO
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos

- SEEN & HEARD
Jimmy Fallon Christmas Book Coming This Fall

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DIGGER, DOZER, DUMPER

by Hope Vestergaard ; illustrated by David Slonim ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2013

While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.

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Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.

Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.

While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)